Ten years ago I found myself down in Syndicate as part of a brand new Alliance called Black Mark. The Alliance was the brainchild of the leadership of a Corporation I was a Director in called Dissonance. We had recently relocated from The Spire and formed our own Alliance. Yes, back then I was still a Null Sec guy. Although I had been playing around the edges of various game-play choices over the years, I was mainly a Null Sec player.
In January 2011 I assumed control of my alt corporation Lucifer's Hammer and began recruiting players. What I didn't know at the time, was that this action would start me down a path towards becoming the Pirate Lord of Low Sec and everything that followed.
This month Lucifer's Hammer is ten years old and a vital part of A Band Apart. These days it is being run by the amazing Starfire Dai and her team. And if you are looking for industry, wormhole, awesomeness with the opportunity to fly with Stay Frosty whenever you want - then I highly recommend you check them out. Great group of people. Join THE FROSTY HAMMER in-game channel and have a chat.
Ten years. Helluva journey. All of which is well documented here in these pages. But the TL;DR version is this: Lucifer's would grow increasingly bored of being blue to the Blue Doughnut being formed in the North and spending more and more time in Low Sec. We'd leave Black-Mark and join Rote Kappelle but that only lasted for a few months and one excursion into Curse. We'd then join Muppet Ninjas and officially move into Low Sec. But that only lasted for a day. We'd move again, this time forming our own Alliance called Burn Away. All of which just happened to coincide with some of the most difficult and challenging years of my personal life. Burn Away did extremely well for a time. Until we all ended up going in different directions. I joined The Tuskers and essentially went into hiding for a few months. When I came back to the game full-time things had changed. The Tuskers was under new leadership and we didn't see eye-to-eye. To say the least. Sully and I have made peace in the years that followed, but essentially all of that was a launching pad for the culmination of that journey I started back in January 2011. And Stay Frosty was born.
Having played this game for almost thirteen years I can tell you honestly that there is a direct correlation between gaming life and real life. That my best years in Eve match the years in which my own life out here in the real world have become better. That we don't always make the best decisions when we are living under tremendous stress. But that those moments are also a part of the journey we take. In-game and out-of-game. Did I always make the best decisions? Nope. I freely admit it. But I also know that all of those experiences, the mistakes, the triumphs, everything - helped lead me to where I am today.
Lucifer's Hammer is ten years old. In May Stay Frosty will be celebrating our eight year anniversary along with the seventh anniversary of ABA. All of what happened before is rapidly becoming ancient history.
What an amazing journey it has been. I can't wait to see what happens next.