Today I was messaged on steam about wether or not ARES or BAN (two relatively prominent blockland clans) would ever return. I was able to reply quickly. Never. I thought back to my first days on blockland, the days of BAN and NWB. I thought back to the formation of ISBC, then ASI, then ISBC again, then ION, and finally of the glory days of ARES. I thought about the construction of the Argos, and the Danube. I thought about being accepted to BAN on the eve of my Philmont trip. I remember the drama concerning our post count, and how everyone in the ARES thread could care less; they were having the times of their lives. But more importantly, I thought about what I learned about friendship and understanding. The lessons I learned with those two clans changed me as a person. However, nothing lasts forever, and it's someone else's turn to forge boldly into the future. No more will those legendary clans show aspiring clans how they should model themselves. What remnants of the classical clans still remain are fading now. Upstart clans like Krypt and Colleagues are even now observing the effects of reality on their already precarious situations. Eventually, they too will fall, and newer clans will rise, leading the community into the future.
Those "glory days" of mine were not completely without blemish. Eventually, ARES fell from grace. We were obsolete. Our gimmick, the Argos, was old news. I tried to hold the clan together by essentially making the members hostages of my own desires. Of course, this failed, and we all went our separate ways. I made the mistake of trusting Jimmg. And then I made it again. And again. Until finally I destroyed what little camaraderie we had left; I posted the "Sue is a Man" topic. I thought it was the funniest thing. I thought I had finally defeated my own self-perceived demons within my past. I was wrong. I destroyed some of the closest friendships I had, and it took me months to repair them. If I could go back and take back one thing I ever did, it would be that.
As I thought more, I told that same person that ARES and BAN were not great because of their titles or their accomplishments, but instead their sense of friendship teamwork. A clan is supposed to be a conglomerate of like-minded builders, thinkers, and eventers. Anything else will surely be doomed to failure.
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