Hello, everyone.

First of all I'd like to thank Treveri for making the initial post. I'm not going to speak for him, but all of you should know that he had the best intentions when asking me not to post. It wasn't some plot, or lack of respect for the members of this Guild. He just wanted to post more than "you don't have a guru anymore". :) Unfortunately, things didn't work out the way he wanted them to, and after a couple months went by, it was no longer realistic to wait.

I'm not entirely certain where the search for a new WM guru stands. Not because I'm not desperately interested, but because I don't have the time to keep up at the moment. <G> What I do know is that my replacement will be the best possible person for the job. I know s/he will come to you with a solid vision and drive, and the time to make that vision a reality.

My decision to resign as WM guru was motivated entirely by time constraints. Every GM has to try and juggle the demands of DR against the demands of their other job(s), family, school, etc. Unfortunately, I got to the point where I was juggling too much. Not enough perception skill I guess. ;)

Stepping down as WM guru has easily been the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my time working for DR. I have been a Simutronics employee for 3 1/2 years now, and have been part of the WM team the entire time. First as Shalnhh's assistant, then as guru. Actually, taking into account my time as a player, I've been involved with the guild for much longer than that. :)

I still remember being a neophyte GemStone player and hearing about a new game that Simutronics was going to open. I looked around at all the Lords and Ladies and thought, "Oh, cool! Here's my chance to be one of the first." I went to look at the documentation, and the premise for the Warrior Mage Guild just leapt out at me. I knew it "fit" me better than any other. Aside from a brief stint as a Commoner-waiting-for-Bardhood, I haven't wanted to be anything else.

Over the past few years, I have always tried to work towards the betterment of this Guild. I have tried to make it as fun for you to play as it is for me to create. Sometimes I have succeeded, sometimes I have failed. For the successes, I thank you for the feedback and encouragement. For the failures, I'm sorry I wasn't able to achieve your dreams.

We haven't always agreed on where this Guild should go, or how it should get there. But I've always known that we wanted the same thing: the best experience possible. There have been times when you've made me frustrated enough to pull my hair out, made me angry enough to scream at the monitor, and made me laugh. I just want to thank you for the time you've spent playing a Warrior Mage.

Good luck to all of you. I hope you continue to enjoy playing this game as much as I've enjoyed watching you play. :)

-Atrathien