The event at Moonglade was the end result of a ‘race’ between Fates Encompassed and Redrum Inc to complete the AQ40 gate opening quest. Redrum Inc had been the Alliance ‘bad guys’ since day one of the server and there had been a reasonable amount of bad blood between them and most Horde guilds. At the same time, several Alliance guilds didn’t get on particularly well with Redrum Inc either.

What we bizarrely ended up with was a strange coalition of both Horde and Alliance guilds in one camp - Fates Encompassed, The Tide, The Azure Seal and Ye Olde Goone Squade. In the other you had Redrum Inc, Validus and Revenants.

Redrum Inc had pulled ahead in the quest and had planned to carry out the Eranikus event, in Moonglade on 16th March 2006. Their GM, Jinxtah had been in touch with most guilds asking for help. On the one hand, most wanted the gates open, yet on the other, many were surprised that Redrum Inc would actually have the gall come to us and ask for our help. But still, we were undecided and no one really knew how it was going to pan out.

Hours before the event itself, the decision was still up in the air, until those in The Tide again had reports in guild chat of members being set upon by Redrum Inc in the Plaguelands and Winterspring, which sealed the deal: there would be a standoff.

There were meetings between several guilds and we decided that we were going to stick one up Redrum Inc with the side result of the possible postponement of the Eranikus event for a week.

As the time of the event grew near, Moonglade gradually filled with both Alliance and Horde. It was pretty clear where the dividing lines were, with Redrum Inc and supporting guilds at one side of a small glade and with a large and growing pack of Horde and Alliance on the other. Even to the last moment, there was some indecision as quite how this was going to play out. That was until Ye Olde Goone Squade started to attacking people that strayed outside the raids. From then on it was inevitable really and Revenants were quickly added to the kill list. Word went out between the guilds that no one was to be touched apart from Redrum Inc and Revenants. The Goones and The Azure Seal would kill the Horde guild Validus, who had sided with Redrum for the event.

Redrum Inc eventually triggered the event and everyone crossed the lake and into town. The opposing guilds took up position in the surrounding cliffs, we watched Eranikus and the shades for a while and then all hell broke loose as the massed Horde dropped into Moonglade and proceeded to hunt down Redrum.

This proved to be a little too much of a benchtest for the poor old Venture Co server and things very quickly became a slide show. But the battle still raged on for a good half an hour, with the order eventually being given to hearth out. It was basically the biggest scrap that this server had ever seen, only to be topped several months later by The Tide waging war on the entire Alliance for an afternoon.

Within seconds the realm forums, chat and IRC channels exploded and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. The Venture Co had morphed into The Drama Co and stayed as such for a good period of weeks. There was basically all out war between the new hybrid factions. Whilst it was entertaining at first, after a while it was also becoming a nightmare – hardly anyone was able to take down an outdoor boss and almost every contested area was just a warzone.

Moonglade 06, as it came to be known from then on, was the defining moment for The Venture Co. and led to many of the tensions between guilds that are still on the server today.

Written by Kettle of <The Tide>, April 2007.