Stormborne Exiles

Stormborne Exiles is a Horde roleplaying guild. It welcomes all Horde races and classes.

It was formed on the principle of self-determination--i.e. that all players, or characters, have the right to pursue their own goals and storylines within the guild structure. At the time of the guild's formation, the founders felt that too often players were forced to choose between RPing, leveling, PvPing and Raiding when joining a guild; yet there is no reason for these goals to be mutually exclusive.

The guild was formed in May of 2008, after the dissolution of the guild House Stormborne. As of October 2008, the guild is home to 78 characters played by 39 players. Approximately one quarter of the members are level 70. The guild is approximately 60% blood elf, but welcomes ALL Horde races equally.

Stormborne Exiles has a loose storyline (see Guild History, below) within which characters must fit. The main focus of the guild is to support characters in realizing their own goals, both IC and OOC.

Guild chat is IC. The guild also has an OOC chat channel. The guild regulary runs dungeons and raids, participates in world, battleground and arena PvP, and has at least one RP night per week, as well as special RP events.

The guild's website can be found here.

Guild History
As written by guild mistress, Lady Lenauryn Stormborne.

I begin the tale of our history inside-out, as it were, with the present, since most of you reading this will find that the most pertinent. The name Stormborne, it is worth noting, means not "born of the storm," but "carried by the storm." Though it began as a family name, it has proven a fitting title, for we have all, indeed, been buffeted by the great winds of our age, and continue to be. The name, therefore, may rightfully be applied to those not of the Stormborne bloodline.

Today, Stormborne Exiles is a motley assortment of "exiles" of one kind or another. Some are merely survivors of the Scourge war, who lost everything and are now looking for a new meaning to their lives. Others are escaping troubled pasts and those who would seek them out to pay for old misdeeds; or lost souls looking for a place in the world. And some of us were exiled in truth, turned out of our homes and cast out upon the storm to land where we may.

We banded together for survival, for together were could accomplish more than each on his own. But survival is only the beginning. Our focus now is fighting, training, and regaining the Stormborne Legacy.

The Stormborne Legacy

House Stormborne was a highly respected family among the Quel'dorei, since the time of the founding of Quel'Thelas. But it was in the Troll wars that our name was truly built; the training, gear, and solidarity of our fighting force was unsurpassed, whether they fought with metal or magic. For three thousand years, we maintained that reputation.

Then the Scourge came. Silvermoon City was magically protected by the Runestones, so we believed ourselves safe from Arthas and his armies of the Undead. My father, who was Lord Stormborne, sent most of his household and men-at-arms to Dalaran--including myself and my siblings, for we were fighters too--where it was assumed the Scourge would hit. He and my mother and a handful of servants stayed behind.

But we were betrayed--the magic of the runestones was broken by treachery within Silvermoon City itself. The Stormborne troops arrived in Dalaran only to discover that the Scourge was attacking Quel'Thelas.

We arrived too late. The city had been laid waste, and the Sunwell destroyed. My mother and father were missing, presumed dead.

The Beginning of our Exile

Our grief and anger were no different than any of the survivors. But as the shock passed, we found their anger turning towards us. We had not been there to defend the walls of Silvermoon. People began to whisper that my father had been in league with the betrayer, and had sent us away to keep us safe. Though my father would never have done such a thing, there was no way to disprove it.

When Kael'thas left and took so many of our people with him, to build this "promised land" in Outland, the governance in Silvermoon City changed, and not in our favor. Our reputation was indellibly tarnished, and in the end, our houses and holdings were stripped from us. Because no charges could be proved against us, we escaped with our lives, but everything that we had was lost.

Under the leadership of my elder siblings, we attempted to regroup. But my brother, Raelthos--the youngest blood child of Lord and Lady Stormborne, and of an age with me, the adopted one--and I did not agree with the way our elders managed things. I suppose you could say that we were rebellious and troublesome; but on the other hand, we were right.

Well, with one thing and another, Raelthos and I were disowned. We traveled to Undercity with a few of our loyal retainers, and lost track of the rest of our family. But in Undercity we found that we were not the only exiles. In that city and in many others, we found people whose lives had been eviscerated by the war and the plague; who were trying to escape their own troubled pasts; who had no place to belong. We collected them, and they joined us, and they became, like us, Stormborne Exiles.

The Future of Stormborne

If there is one thing I have learned since the fall of Quel'Thelas, it is that it is useless to live in the past. Once House Stormborne fought for honor, for respect, for the good of the people. That served us nothing but betrayal--by the Alliance, by our own people, and most recently by our prince. This is not a time for high concepts, it is a time for action.

Therefore we train to fight, but it makes no difference whom the fight is against. Alliance or Burning Legion, assassination or mercenary work, alone or in teams--it makes no difference. We shall do it all, we shall excel, and the name Stormborne will be respected by our allies and feared by our enemies. That is all.

Guild Philosophy and Style
Guild alignment could best be described as chaotic neutral, with a wide variation between characters.

Stormborne Exiles does not allow lore-breaking or inappropriate characters.

The guild is highly social. Both guild chat and OOC chat are busy. Members work together frequently on quests and instances. High value is placed on helping fellow Exiles in any way possible.