Hey there, folks!

We’re now coming up on a week into the Raiders of the Lost Vault event, and what a week it has been! The tides of coins (pun FULLY intended) have been rolling around, both on Oceania and the other servers with people garnering support for the Kingdom and Duchy(ies) on offer.

But to this point, many people have noticed I’ve been somewhat uncharacteristically quiet regarding the person to whom I would lend my support in this cause. Although I have privately lent support to others, and done my best to help them along, I intentionally refrained from a public show of support until things had calmed down a little.

For want of a better way of saying it, I wanted to make sure that the candidate pool was stable - and it seems that decision was wise, with at least one of the candidates having decided to pull out of the race for the crown.

But before we get into it… a little history. I’ve known Preacher here for a long time - along with Xakorai, Alleykat, and some others (shout out folks - you know who you are) - we were all around back after that first kickstarter. Back when the server had only a single kingdom, Carpentaria, and Emery’s Free Duchies... or Duchy, as it were :D

Throughout all that time, Preacher and I have had a tumultuous relationship to put it lightly. At times we’ve been good friends, at other times we’ve been somewhat hostile towards each other. In no small part due to my own actions and statements, but we both have our part in all that. It’s an unfortunate circumstance in which he remains one of the few long time community members that I am yet to meet in person - though that’s a list that I am trying to shrink constantly. The long and the short of the point here being that I know Preacher reasonably well - I know his dedication to the cause and the community, I know the lengths he will go to to make sure things are right, and to ensure that this game is the greatest it can be.

So with that out of the way, we have this event happening, right? So let’s talk about that. Although at first - as mentioned above - I have been striving to gather support behind other candidates, as the event has developed and more information has become available I’ve become exceptionally glad that I’ve not made a prior endorsement.

After watching Preacher’s Oceanus FM interview, I sat back and mulled things over. I originally did not think that Preacher’s campaign platform was as fantastic as it presented, and I definitely showed a preference towards Hajime’s To’reshian society based campaign. However knowing what I know of Preacher as a person, and having seen - nay, felt - the determination presented in that interview, I began to change my thoughts regarding that.

Overall, taking into consideration ALL factors, I believe that the Caprakan platform is overall the strongest single pitch out of all the existing platforms. Though each absolutely has its merits, Preacher has the advantage of being a proven community builder, and I firmly believe that the best outcome for Oceanus is for Preacher to win this event. You might even say I’m on that #KingOfTheSouth wagon - please, feel free to talk about how you are officially endorsed by all active Monarchs on Oceanus, Preacher!

I’d also like to take this moment to correct a minor point in the campaign pitch of Preacher - I’d like to mention that Tylsia now has an absolute preference for Kingdom 2 on Oceanus. That is, the kingdom containing Kypiq, Neran, and The Waerd. Although we have been a bit wishy-washy previously, I feel it’s best overall for us to make our intention clear.

That said, I do personally recognise that Lor Voskara picks before Tylsia - and so I must state openly that not securing Kingdom 2 would be disappointing for us. Having spoken at length with various members of the community we’ve started to make some fantastic plans making use of both the Waerd locations and Kypiq ingenuity! Ultimately however, that’s beside the primary point.

At the end of the day, I want to make one very simple comment. Preacher for Monarch - let’s make it happen.

With that said, however, I want to make it clear that this is MY OWN, PERSONAL ENDORSEMENT. Whilst I encourage all Tylsians to support Preacher’s bid for the crown (sorry, Ithikari <3), I am not some sort of overlord that will demand obedience, and I firmly believe that all members of Tylsia should support their candidate they believe best suited to the role of Monarch of Kingdom 4/Sokara.