Silver Dawn/History

The formation

Silver Dawn was formed on December 23, 2003, the result of the merger of Sanctioned Insanity and Compass Rose, two flags whose histories date back to Azure. Before the original merger, many names were considered for the new flag including Compass Insanity, and Rising Moon, amongst others. Eventually, Diamondblade of The Travellers came up with a completely new name to mirror the fresh start for the newly formed flag: Silver Dawn. The merger agreement stated that Diven of Sanctioned Insanity would be monarch, and that Emmy would be governor of the island that SD chose to take.

At the approximate time of the merger, their Guava Island weavery was traded for Unbeweavable, an Epsilon Island weavery. This gave the new flag four shoppes on Epsilon.

Shortly after forming, Silver Dawn resumed talks with Captainjimmy of the crew Easily Distracted that had been previously going on between them and Compass Rose. These talks were successful, resulting in another crew joining the flag.

Meanwhile, Silver Dawn continued bidding on shoppes and won an apothecary on Gaea Island, Earth Tones. The running of this shoppe was entrusted to a team of managers from different crews. This brought the flag's shoppe count to 5 and gave them one of every shoppe, save a shipyard.

In mid-January 2004 the crew Ransack Marauders, long time friends of the flag, were accepted into its ranks. The crew had been formed under Ironfisted the previous month; its roots being another crew that had splintered off The Cartographers, previously of Compass Rose.

Eventually, Diven felt his participation level waning and decided to abdicate the throne. Upon his departure, he recommended Attesmythe to the Royal Council as the one to take the throne. Emmy was displeased with the suggestion of Attesmythe, as she thought there was an unwritten agreement that she would be the next in line for the throne. There was tense discussion, but ultimately Attesmythe removed himself from consideration in order to end the conflict. So began the reign of Emmy.

Under her guidance, Silver Dawn continued to prosper; it was during her tenure that the first colonization stockpile was gathered. Her reign was short lived, however. Emmy came upon real-life realities that would force her to give up the game almost entirely. In light of these, she, too, gave up the throne.

Continued growth

Renewed struggles

Following Emmy's abdication, Attesmythe, captain of Black Opal, was elected to the monarchy in March, 2004. Few changes in the flag's structure took place, though Attesmythe made efforts to increase flag-wide communication. While trying to keep bureaucratic "red tape" to a minimum, he proposed several motions to require the prompt informing of flag officers and below of current royalty discussions. Colonization plans continued, and the last bit of the first colonization stockpile was completed.

Despite the smooth appearance of the transition, tensions were high in the flag. The uncertainty of the prior election was not forgotten, and some believed that real life was not the sole factor behind Emmy's decision to divest the throne. To ease the minds of those pirates still uncomfortable, and being unsure of the initial estimates for required colonisation goods, Attesmythe coordinated the gathering of a second colonization stockpile, equal in size to the first.

Alliances revisited

During these struggles, Silver Dawn continued to grow as a flag. In the months since the release of the war and alliance mechanism, the flag's leadership reexamined standing alliances, trying to determine if they were made for the right reasons. It was eventually decided that Silver Dawn's alliances would be few, but strong and meaningful; they would be strategically important, but more importantly, they would be made with flags who felt the same way about the goals of the game.

One such strong alliance was with the mates of All but Malice. Attesmythe had courted that flag for an alliance for some time, and it was finally secured shortly after he took the throne. Soon after, however, many of All but Malice's leadership (specifically Oro, Moonchlide and Talek) decided that their time in those positions was done. Its crews decided that rather than elect new leaders, the flag name should be left with their rulers as a testament to their reign. In early April, 2004, three of their crews, Innocent, Coastal Cutthroats, and Roundhouse Rum Runners joined Silver Dawn, bringing with them the shops Occam's Razors (an ironmonger on Epsilon) and What Looms Ahead (a weavery on Gaea), along with the All but Malice colonization stockpile. The alliance with the vestigial All but Malice was dissolved.

Other alliances were lost, as well. The early accord with Nidiata Dei Draghi was dropped by that flag when communication broke down for a number of months. Silver Dawn terminated the alliance with Dragon Tears over concerns that that flag's growing alliance network would put Silver Dawn in a position of not being able to help closer allies due to game restraints of hostilities within an alliance web.

It was during this time, however, that the strong and long-standing alliance between Silver Dawn and Looterati was developed. Though slow in forming, after careful consideration by both flags, the alliance came to fruition. Silver Dawn knew that Looterati were intent on Jorvik Island, and began to factor that into their own discussions on an island target.

The dream of conquest

From the time of the merging, through the beginning of Attesmythe's reign, Silver Dawn was intent on the colonization of Nu Island in the Opal Archipelago. As the flag grew, however, both in crews and in general membership in those crews, Nu began to look increasingly small. Initial island planning suggested that it would be difficult to aesthetically place buildings for even one shoppe per crew, and with some heavily mercantile crews, there were concerns that one shoppe might not be sufficient.

In response, Attesmythe drafted a rough "land grant" proposal. The problem was that a set number of shoppes per crew would be too few for some, and too many for most, yet with little else to do with an island, crews should not be slighted by waiving their rights to a shoppe. The premise behind the proposal was that instead of granting shoppes to crews, the flag would grant plots of land. The land could be developed however the crew would like. Each crew would be guaranteed one shoppe, whose construction costs would be paid for by the flag, and an option to build at least one more, to be financed by the crew. The remaining land was to be saved for housing and aesthetic improvements to the island. Since it was clear that Nu would not support such a grand scheme, the proposal also included a change of targets to Eta Island, in the heart of the Ruby Archipelago.

The adoption of this proposal, combined with the release of bazaars and their stringent building requirements, retroactively justified the collection of the second colonization stockpile. Silver Dawn was poised to strike a much larger target with little to no additional resource gathering required.

Colonization

• Selection of Eta Island. Started to find out who was interested in adjoining islands; Looterati for Jorvik Island, Nyx's Scions and The Midnight Sun wanted Islay of Luthien.
• Our parting of ways with The Midnight Sun alliance. Creation of RAWR.
• May 2004; disbanding of Nyx's Scions. Split including future allies Widows and Orphans and Carpe Noctem.
• Eta I - Chihiro dropped the war chest on Eta at 3:00pm EST on July 22nd, 2004.
• Alliance with Widows and Orphans July 1, 2004
• August 18, 2004: The Unmanageables merge with Easily Distracted

Possible Subsections:

We are Ruby, hear us RAWR

Yes, Feegle is particularly proud of this subtitle.

Silver Dawn at the First Battle of Jorvik

On May 1st, 2004, the Looterati blockaded Jorvik for the first time. As blockades were a farily new game mechanic, the ocean generally knew little of what to expect, and for the most part, Silver Dawn supported their allies by camping flags without much competition. In the last round, Vilya decided to give the colonists a run for their money. They came in with ship after ship, many of which were promptly sunk by keen battle navigators under the guidance of Quiglin. Jorvik was taken without much of a problem, and the celebration on the island afterward was incredible.

Turbulent times

August 2004 - November 2004

Possible Subsections:

Silver Dawn in Luthien Bay

• No Homers' attempt on Luthien
• Creation of the Quartermaster-General's position, and subsequently, of the Cabinet
• Action of Eta II

Changing of the guard

• Attesmythe's abdication
• Spuggy's election to monarch
• Quiglin elected governor
• Choto and Emmy's departure
• Attesmythe's departure

New mates

• Soaring Gulls

The parting of ways

December 2004 - Feb 2005 See current draft work-in-progress at Feegle's User Page

Possible Subsections:

A difference of opinion

• Departure of Black Opal
• Spuggy's abdication
• Redrumjack's term as interim monarch
• Disbanding of The Yellow Turbans and the Departure of Wings of Aesthir

A new monarch

• Election of Chihiro

The forging of the Ruby Ring

• Notorious Fandango's effect on Silver Dawn, and the creation of Ruby Ring.

The Scallywag War

Note: This section primarily covers events of the war that are relevant to Silver Dawn. For a complete summary of the war, see the Scallywag War history page.

A growing cabinet

As the Scallywag War was on the verge of starting up, Silver Dawn added two new offices to its cabinet. The Office of Diplomacy was formed as a way to have official representatives to talk to friends and foes alike. Also joining the cabinet was the Office of Event Planning, in charge of organizing fun events for the flag members and other to take part in.

The quest for Robertdonald

On March 12, Carpe Noctem, No Homers, Looterati and Silver Dawn made a public declaration of war ^[1] against Robertdonald and Scallywag Syndicate. No Homers, as it had previously been planning, attacked Endurance Island on March 13, which at the time was controlled by The Midnight Sun, close allies of Scallywag Syndicate. On the same day, Carpe Noctem initiated a blockade at Zeta Island, controlled by Lost Legacy, partially done to split the forces of Scallywag Syndicate, who also had ties to Lost Legacy. Silver Dawn and Looterati planned to assist in both of these blockades. When Scallywag Syndicate learned of these plans, they dropped war chests on Jorvik Island, controlled by Looterati, and Islay of Luthien, controlled by Carpe Noctem. However, they were not to win the day, with No Homers taking Endurance, Carpe Noctem taking Zeta, and Scallywag Syndicate losing both its attacking blockades.

Eta lost and regained

The Looterati had lost and recaptured Jorvik in April, though Scallywag Syndicate promised more blockades on the island. But after the Looterati had their flag forums ^[2] hacked into by an unknown party, the Ocean Masters decided to close Jorvik to blockades temporarily to give them a chance to regroup. The Syndicate decided that their only recourse was to attack Eta instead, and dropped a war chest on Eta for May 1. Unlike Scallywag Syndicate, Silver Dawn and its allies did not pay jobbers, and that and some disorganisation led to their loss of Eta. This was a difficult time for Silver Dawn, as it was the first time they lacked control of Eta since the island's colonization. In addition, Silver Dawn had opted to make the blockade sinking, propelling it into a war with Scallywag Syndicate over the next week.

Silver Dawn struck back to reclaim Eta on May 8. At the same time, Notorious Fandango attacked Jorvik, hired by Scallywag Syndicate in an attempt to split forces between the two islands. However, Silver Dawn emerged victorious in its reclamation, and Looterati was able to retain control of Jorvik. War between Silver Dawn and Scallywag Syndicate contiuned for the next two weeks. Eta was not blockaded again by the Syndicate, but Silver Dawn continued to aid the Looterati as Jorvik faced more blockades over the next month.

Formalizing friendships

In the midst of the war, Silver Dawn was also able to forge alliances. The first of these was Trans-Atlantic Empire, who held Cranberry Island. The two flags had supported each other in blockades of their respective islands, and the Office of Diplomacy worked with TAE to bring the flags together officially, becoming allies on May 8.

Silver Dawn also pursued an alliance with Carpe Noctem, whom they had previously worked with in Ruby Ring and the war declaration on Scallywag Syndicate. With the longtime friendly relations between them, both flags found it easy to agree to ally, making it official on May 23.

Midnight Armada approached Silver Dawn about an alliance in May, looking to increase their alliance list and pledging to support Silver Dawn in blockades against Eta. Silver Dawn was also keen on the mutual support idea, and the two flags allied on May 28.

Post-war prosperity

Consolidation

As the mighty Crimson Tide announced the beginning of a "Summer of War", Silver Dawn and her allies bid warfare a farewell as conflict in the Midnight Ocean moved south. The end of the war marked an internal shift in focus away from Silver Dawn in the context of the ocean and her allies, to instead concentrate upon the flag itself. The summer was marked by a large number of internal events created and run by Sunny.

The creation of the Office of the Historian was intended to improve the written history of Silver Dawn. The formation of this office proved to be one of Chihiro's last acts as queen, as she stepped down from the position in early August 2005. She chose Vistr as the interim monarch while a new leader was selected. During Vistr's tenure, the royalty council discussed limiting the terms an individual could serve as monarch, eventually settling on four month terms with no consecutive appointments to the throne.

The flag continued to grow and mature as the Office of Diplomacy brought two new crews into Silver Dawn. First was Kiss Me Mate, who joined on August 10. They were followed by Knot on Yer Life on August 27, a crew founded by several former Yellow Turbans.

A propitious autumn

In the first election for a four month term for monarch, Feegle was chosen as king in September 2005. His coronation took place on September 18, and included a contest to write the best song, poem or story about him, judged by the king himself.

Later in the month, Silver Dawn decided to end their alliance with Heavens Aligned (formerly No Homers). After some internal disputes, many of the former No Homers members left Heavens Aligned, leaving the flag with no one known to Silver Dawn. Thus, it seemed logical to terminate the alliance, though Silver Dawn left the door open to future relations with the remaining members of Heavens Aligned.

As the flag ended one alliance, it gained another. The Office of Diplomacy had worked with Crimson Tide to bring the two large flags closer together, and an alliance between them was officially formed on September 30.

Around the same time, one of the flag's crews, Neverland, disbanded after the captain and most of the other crew members went dormant. Another crew, Easily Distracted, decided to merge with The Cartographers, and did so on October 26.

The flag also decided that, like the term limits for the monarch, that the governor of Eta Island would serve in the position for four months. Clinton was elected to the position, and installed on November 21.

A two year milestone

In December, the two year anniversary of Silver Dawn's founding, the flag planned a day-long series of events ^[3] in celebration. Sunny, who was the flag's event planner at the time, masterminded several events themed around the number 2. Many pirates from all over the ocean came to particpate in the flag's events on December 10.

As part of the anniversary celebration, King Feegle organized an unusual ocean-wide event entitled Silver Dusk (not to be confused with the alt flag of the same name which served as inspiration for the title of the event). The details of the event can be read in the main forum post announcing it ^[4].

With the expiration of Feegle's term as monarch, the flag began to choose its next monarch. There were a total of eight candidates in the election, necessitating a runoff, but in the end Sunny was selected to reign as queen for the next four months. Her coronation on January 2 included a contest for the best true story about the new queen.

A time of transition

Contentions new and old

The first half of 2006 brought both the departure of old friends and the arrival of new ones to Silver Dawn. On February 14, Silver Dawn formed an alliance with the new flag Broadsiders, a flag formed by members of another of Silver Dawn's allies, Carpe Noctem. Also in February, Clinton decided to step down as governor of Eta. Avasta was chosen by the Royalty Council to serve as interim governor, and was put into position on February 15. Also, on February 16, No Rules- just Booty joined the flag after several months of friendly contacts. The arrival of March saw one of its early crews, Ransack Marauders, leave the flag to find their own way on March 16.

The re-opening of Jorvik Island on March 25, with the additional pressure of Hades' curse ^[5], caused a tumult of activity as the flag both prepared for all-out war at a neighboring island and consulted with allies on what to do in the face of a possible re-ignition of the Scallywag War, as many of the key players from both sides of that earlier conflict weighed in and prepared to contend in the assault on Jorvik. After extensive consultation with friends and allies, Silver Dawn did not contend directly for Jorvik but instead aided Broadsiders in their attempt to take the island, an assault which was unsuccessful in the face of a determined performance by Tyr's Own.

However, the month ended on a higher note as the crew Silver Bulletts was welcomed aboard on March 31. During the preceding weeks, it had been decided by the flag to change when the monarch's and governor's term would end so that the elections for the positions did no coincide with major holidays. Because of this, the next election for governor did not occur until the end of March. Bristar of Innocent was elected and installed on April 3. A few weeks later, on April 15, the crew Knot on Yer Life left the flag when it merged with a crew outside the flag.

On May 16, Silver Dawn welcomed the crew Dastardly Beasties to the flag. Later in the month, the long-time crew Death or Glory set sail for new horizons, leaving on May 31. The elections for the next monarch had begun at the end of May, and after a close race, Deirdremac of Ye Hardy Mates was chosen as queen. She began her reign on June 6.

Merger and mayhem

In late July, a hand was extended to friends in the flag Heartless Shadows after many months of friendly contacts. After some discussion, the crews of Heartless Shadows were invited to join Silver Dawn, which was taken up nearly unanimously. With this merger, six new crews joined the flag in early August -- Bloodlust, Melody Shipping Lanes, Moo Inc, Silver Dolphins, Titans and Undead Daredevils. In addition, Heartless Shadows controlled the island of Cleopatra's Pearls. Another crew, Elemental Serpents, joined at the end of the month after declaring their Captain lost at sea and installing a new captain. These new crews brought the membership of Silver Dawn to nearly 450 mates.

During the same period of time, the crews Goldyn Corsairs and The Dawntreaders joined the flag, and Kiss Me Mate departed to find their own way on the ocean.

In mid-August, the intent to transfer Cleopatra's Pearls to Silver Dawn was posted in Parley, but a bitter debate in the forums ^[6] erupted and the flag Notorious Fandango dropped a war chest on the island for August 13. Silver Dawn also dropped a chest, with the island still owned by Heartless Shadows (by then just a shell flag controlled by mates now in Silver Dawn). Silver Dawn won the first three rounds of Cleo V, soundly defeating Notorious Fandango to take ownership of the island and rendering the transfer intent moot.

A week later, the flag Black Sheep Brigade, in an apparently unrelated move, blockaded Eta Island. This blockade was successfully repelled as Silver Dawn put many of the lessons learned at the previous weekend's blockade to good use and many friends and allies of the flag turned out to help.

A bitter fall

After the recent blockade action, the flag turned back to its normal business, electing Tlzallen to serve the next term as governor of Eta. A longtime friendship with Don't Panic was made into an official alliance on October 13, and Deirdremac was re-elected as monarch on October 19.

In late October, the flag Notorious Fandango, home to many former opponents from the Scallywag War, chose to celebrate the retirement of its ex-monarch, Looseweed, with a blockade of Eta. This blockade, Eta VI, was fiercely contested and ultimately won by Notorious Fandango. Silver Dawn lost the fourth and fifth rounds by a combined total of only 18 points and the blockade was hailed by both sides as one of the best ever, featuring some remarkable work on both sides involving grand frigates.

Just six days later, Silver Dawn returned to Eta determined to re-take the island. Notorious Fandango, with nothing to lose since they planned to disband their flag, chose to pay jobbers a whopping 1000 poe per segment which was the maximum allowable at that time by the game; a pay rate which Silver Dawn matched. This bitterly-fought (and sinking) blockade was won by Silver Dawn in four rounds, after which Notorious Fandango disbanded as they had planned, leaving their mark on Eta via a last-minute rename of the palace from Dawn of a New Eta to Linneaus' Greenhouse.

Only a week later, with the flag still recovering from two emotionally exhausting blockades against Notorious Fandango, the flag Dies Irae dropped a war chest on Eta, forcing Silver Dawn's weary mates to mount a third all-out blockade within a two-week time span. Silver Dawn's ally Broadsiders launched blockades on Turtle Island and Oyster Island in an attempt to split Dies Irae's forces, but neither achieved their goal and Silver Dawn lost Eta once again in a fierce five-round blockade.

Introspection, insurrection and resurrection

After the loss of Silver Dawn's long-held home the flag, exhausted by repeated blockades, put aside island battles and turned inward. Several key members of the flag had real-life committments which took them out of the game for long periods of time over the next few months. Tlzallen, deposed from his governorship of Eta when the island was lost, was chosen to serve as interim governor of Cleopatra's Pearls starting in November, after previous governor Conquest was unable to continue in the position.

The strain of nearly a month of blockades and war brought simmering issues to the surface, culminating in the departure of long-time Silver Dawn crew Ye Hardy Mates after a bitter internal debate, which spilled over into the public forums, about YHM's outspoken Captain Avasta. Concurrently, the crew Elemental Serpents took its leave, and a bloc of senior officers from The Cartographers abruptly split from the crew to form a new one, Siochan Leat, which was admitted back into the flag. This was a dark time for Silver Dawn as many flagmates dropped from activity. The flag forums, which usually buzz with activity, fell nearly silent and some long-time players despaired for Silver Dawn's future.

In March 2007, the flag Incredible, perhaps in an attempt to see if Silver Dawn was still functional after a long period of outward quiet, declared intent to blockade Cleopatra's Pearls. On the eve of this blockade, Queen Deirdremac promoted Lead Diplomat Daedalus to acting Monarch because Deirdremac's real-life committments limited her ability to participate in flag functions. The island was successfully defended.

After the blockade, since Queen Deirdremac's term had already expired, the flag elected Daedalus to the monarch's throne on April 3. Additionally, three crews were invited to join Silver Dawn through March and April: Francis Drake Buccaneers, Red Hot Steel and Fallen Angels of the Sea, bringing a welcome infusion of new blood. With new leadership, new flagmates and a revival of activity, Silver Dawn returned to its previous level of activity on the ocean. Regular governor elections returned, and Flutter of Red Hot Steel was elected to the next term for Cleo.

Changes on the horizon

Note: This section documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

A big fallout

In June, tensions came to a head within the flag. A dilemma over the ownership of a ship that had been acquired for Silver Dawn's fleet became the breaking point for a flag long struggling with how to best define internal policies. As a result, Daedalus resigned from the monarchy on June 20th of 2007, frustrated with the personal attacks against him regarding his decision about the ship. Following this, the crews Dastardly Beasties, The Dawntreaders, Fallen Angels of the Sea, Francis Drake Buccaneers, Red Hot Steel, Siochan Leat and Titans all left the flag within a period of two weeks. Daedalus asked Vistr to serve as interim monarch, which he did for a short time, before his crew Innocent also left the flag.