In the beginning, there is always a dream.

Our dream began with the man named Tyrule Darkblade.  He was a man looking for something else, something besides being ordered.  He believed that this was a common thought among men and women here in Rhy'Din, as only those with true thought, free thought, liked to be ordered around.  It was his belief that if people wanted to be ordered into any type of service, they would don the colored silks of a slave girl and move their asses to Gor.

We still believe that today.

Armed with only his personal vision of what a "guild" should be, Tyrule set out to form his own.  Thus, on the 26th day during the month of Uktar [November] in the Dalereckoning year of 1995, he proclaimed himself the first Grand Master of the Darkstalkers.

Tyrule began to build the Darkstalkers slowly, taking with him ten like minded individuals from his past.  In the evenings, Tyrule would hunt the taverns of Rhy'Din, with his faithful Sidhe, Lanun, traveling on his back.  Their brand of merriment attracted more and more people to them, those who wanted to join in the fun, including future Grand Mistress Katherine "Starwind" Elvenblood.  The Darkstalkers began to grow and slowly, they began to give new meaning to the word "guild", turning from the rigid military structure that was the standard, to the more family oriented structure many guild's enjoy today.

One of the first things that Tyrule did with the new family was take them into a blossoming new governmental body named the Forum of Rhy'Din Guilds.  The Darkstalkers were the second guild to join the FRG, following closely behind the founding guild of Dark Amber.  Official notice of their acceptance was sent on the 9th day of the month of Hammer [January] in the Dalereckoning year of 1996.

Soon after the Darkstalkers were on their way, Grand Master Tyrule simply vanished from the realms, having to head back to homeland of Faerún, to help his sister.  At the time, Sinne Kelle stepped forward and assumed the leadership role left by Tyrule.  It was only temporary, as Tyrule returned within a few year's time.

Unfortunately, his homecoming was less than well received.  Sinne had decided that she was not going to relinquish leadership to Tyrule and staged a coup.  Most of the Darkstalkers did not support her and the attempt failed miserably.  Tyrule was once again established as the leader of the Darkstalkers, which displease Sinne Kelle mightily.

From the fires of her discontent, Sinne took several of the family members and set about forming her own guild.  While in the midst of this project, she was struck down in a match to the Death, thus ending her plans.  Only in Rhy'din, however, is death only the beginning and not the end.  As it turned out, upon her death, Sinne Kelle's spirit inhabited the body of the Lady Juliet, who continued on with the building of Sinne Kelle's new guild.  It wasn't long before the project was completed and it was given a name, the Black Dragon's Honor.

With the death of Sinne Kelle and the formation of Black Dragon's Honor, the Darkstalker leadership was suffering.  Tyrule turned to a faithful bodyguard, Katherine Starwind Elvenblood, and placed her as the Third in Command and Kalmun, an experienced rider was placed as the Second in Command.  Life was peaceful again for awhile.

At the end of the year, many changes took place.

Lanun and Tyrule were to be married.  It was a joyous time for them and a sad time for the Darkstalkers.  It was agreed by the nuptials that once wed, Tyrule would step down from leading the family.  Being a man of honor, he did as he agreed and stepped down.  At that time, command was handed over to Kalmun, who opted to decline and so the mantle of leadership passed along to Katherine Starwind Melnibone, nee Elvenblood.

The official date of Starwind's appointment to Grand Mistress was on the 16th day in the month of Alturiak [February], in the Dalereckoning year of 1996.  Grand Mistress Starwind named her husband, Elrich Melnibone as her Second in Command.

Not long after Starwind's appointment to Grand Mistress, the family once again entered times of turmoil.  During a foray to the now ill-reputed Red Dragon Inn, she was approached by a man named MacMoranaa.  This man convinced Starwind that he had utmost family information to share with her and the two of them went back to the Darkstalker guildhall, where they were met by the Lady Lyriasa, Starwind's bodyguard.

Vile intentions this man had, and upon seeing Starwind's guard, he wasted no time in flowery phrases.  He drew a dagger and stuck it at Starwind's belly, which held her unborn child.  He bid Lady Lyriasa tell Elrich that if he ever wanted to see his wife alive again, that he need come get her.  It was a plot to undo Elrich and his best friends, Kith and Sabbat, who had crossed this man previously.  Then he spirited Starwind away from her home and her bodyguard.

Upon hearing the news of his wife's kidnapping, Elrich began to plot the ways to get her back.  He first sought out Strahdd, the one man he knew could find Starwind no matter where she was, for they were linked through blood.  Once her location was known, the Darkstalkers launched an attack upon the compound, distracting the main contingent of soldiers under MacMoranaa's command.  During the distraction, Elrich made his way into the dungeon and the cell where Starwind was being held prisoner.

Waiting there for Elrich was MacMoranna himself.  Before Elrich could get to his wife, a game of riddles ensued and with each wrong answer, Grand Mistress Starwind lost a finger off her hand, until there was only one left.  Finally, however, Elrich managed to get close enough to MacMoranna to engage him in a duel.  The fight raged through the cells and ended with Elrich impaling MacMoranna on his sword.  The Darkstalkers returned home victorious, suffering only minor casualties.
After her kidnapping, the Grand Mistress moved the family from mainland Rhy'Din to her home, the Isle of Draco Myst.  The Isle, located six hours North West of mainland Rhy'Din, is only accessible by water or air.  The only building that stood on the Isle when the Darkstalkers arrived was Starwind's home, Dragonsbane Castle.  Determined to protect his wife from any further harm, Elrich had the Darkstalkers erect a stone monolith fortress, which was completed on 3rd day in the month of Tarsakh [April] in the Dalereckoning year of 1996.  This compound, which still stands today, was simply named the Darkstalkers Keep, since it was designed to keep the Darkstalkers and the inhabitants of the Isle safe from harm in times of trouble.

Fate had dealt the family a good hand after that.  Peaceful times were ahead and smooth sailing ensued for numerous years.  Alliances were signed with several other guilds, such as White Dragon's Vengeance [11/08/1996], Allies of Rhy'Din [04/30/1996], Dark Enforcers to Hire [07/28/1996], ARCANE [07/10/1996], Angels of Darkness [02/22/1996], Warriors of Honor [06/03/1996], Blood House Onyx [11/28/1996], and Black Dragon's Honor [02/24/1996].

During this time period, the family concentrated solely on building the Forum of Rhy'Din Guilds with the help of their allies and other guilds who held membership.  Starwind played a role as a First Speaker of the FRG in the month of Tarsakh [April] in the Dalereckoning year of 1996.  All was well for many, many years.  We participated in the WarGames and then, eventually the mighty Rings of Power.  As with all good things, this time of peace eventually came to an end as well.

Alturiak [February] in the Dalereckoning year of 1997 saw the resignation of the Darkstalkers from the Forum of Rhy'Din Guilds.  Through the Rings of Power, two allies turned against the Darkstalkers and brought accusations of cheating against the leadership of Darkstalkers, most specifically Starwind herself.  It was through the midst of these accusations that Elrich and Starwind withdrew the family.

Under the guise of committment problems, the accusers, White Dragon's Vengeance and the Allies of Rhy'Din broke alliance with the Darkstalkers.  Those that were once friend now found themselves on the outskirts of that term.  However, life forged on for the family, as nothing can stop the inevitable march of time.  Life was quiet for a time and Elrich felt the pull of travel and left the family during this time.

History often repeats itself, if one doesn't learn the lessons life offers.  The Darkstalkers were no exception to this rule and then on the last day in the month of Ches [March] in the Dalereckoning year of 1997, the family rejoined the Forum of Rhy'Din Guilds.

With the feeling of unease still in our bones, we  stretched our wings and entered the Rhy'Din War Council.  Our official date of entry was the month of Kythorn [June] in the Dalereckoning year of 1997.  The Darkstalkers quickly became an influence in the RWC as well when Starwind was elected to the position of Council Administator.  Time passed slowly, with little conflict ensuing, only minor skirmishes here and there which were dealt with accordingly.  Still, even these border wars became dull and routine, the fighting always between the same groups.

Family functions and formalities went on a decline during this period.  Long bouts of inactivity ensued and the lethargy crept up on literally everyone within the Darkstalkers.  The Keep became silent as a tomb and members went off in their own directions, to pursue other endeavors not connected with their age-old family on Draco Myst.  Each one was sent on their way with the blessings of the family and the promise of home when they returned.

During this slow period, forces began to mount against Starwind and the rest of the Darkstalkers.  New guilds were being formed every day and with each one, the older, more established guilds were being targeted.  These new guilds were looking to make a name for themselves and the easiest way to do that was to steal the thunder of an older guild.  To beat them down would be the pinnacle of their career.  And they tried.

The month of Ches [March] in the Dalereckoning year of 1998 saw the first of these attacks on the Darkstalkers and their integrity.  Led by the vicious Scatha, who hid behind her cries of "justice", the crucifiction began.  The lies were spread and the battle lines were drawn.  For almost a half year, the political battle waged and eventually, the Darkstalkers suffered a major blow as Starwind was ousted from her office of Administator.

Battles began to brew, both on the war fields and off, each of them taking their toll on the leadership and membership of the Darkstalkers.  In the month of Flamerule [July], on the 7th day, of the Dalereckoning year 1998, Katherine Elvenblood decided that she would try and elevate her life's meaning to something beyond the ken of the Grand Mistress of our family.  She was having difficulties making the right decisions, those that she knew would send many Darkstalkers to their deaths.  At that time, she placed Cicero von Myst into the Grand Master position, as she knew he would do whatever it took to win.

Cicero von Myst wasted no time in taking over Starwind's duties.  He was a harsh man and his leadership caused much turmoil within the ranks of the Darkstalkers.  He first deconstructed the family values that had been established for years and brought the family back to a militarized structure.  There were many outcries at this and people began to leave as Cicero drove the Darkstalkers into a time of war.

The Darkstalkers were broken into three factions, with many people holding membership in all of them.  These were the Unforgiven, the Shadow Syndicate of Blood Cleansers, and Damage, Incorporated.  They remained in mainland Rhy'Din, in the areas controlled by the governmental Rhy'Din War Council.

However, these wars were not for mere show or for one man's love of destruction.  The wars were waged in the name and honor of Starwind, against those that committed crimes against her person.  The wars lasted for many Rhy'Din years and during this time, the family did find one true friend in all the fighting and destruction.  We are proud to call the Harbingers of Silent Death our friend and dare we say, ally.  Though no papers were ever signed between our family and theirs, the two have stood side by side through everything for many years.

Among the defeated during this time were respected guilds such as the Fire Light Brigade, the Triad of Sin guilds, the once formidable Rhy'Din Doom Guard, the Dark Shadows of Death, Eternal Vengeance in Lawlessness, the Fellowship of Eternal Honor, and the Warriors of Vengeance, and numerous others.

Also during this time, Cicero did away with the remainder of the standing alliances.  While asking for help from the Lady Wrenna Tor of Black Dragon's Honor, Cicero was turned down.  He felt that was a breach of alliance and thus dissolved it immediately.  Also around this time, words were shared with the leader of DETH, Mourne.  He demanded that Cicero pull the Darkstalkers in their entirely from the RWC or else the alliance would be dissolved.  Cicero replied with the dissolution papers as an answer.

From that day forward, the Darkstalkers have not signed another alliance paper.

When the dust settled, and the Darkstalkers Family was finished with that period in their history, the war record stood at an amazing thirty-three [33] campaigns won, ele ven [11] lost and six [6] in truce.  In the eyes of the Family, Starwind's name had been properly vindicated and the family then moved on.  It was then that Starwind returned from her Life Journey and announced that there was no home for her other than the Darkstalkers and Draco Myst.  On the 14th day in the month of Marpenoth [October] in the Dalereckoning year of 1998, Starwind accepted Cicero's offer of co-leadership and from that day forth, they were a team.

In the month of the Hammer [January] in the Dalereckoning year of 1999, Cicero von Myst stepped up and took the mantle of the FRG First Speakership.  This would be the second time that our family held the esteemed position.  Less than a handful of guilds have shared that honor.  In the Dalereckoning year of 2001, in the month of Eleint [September], the Darkstalkers will hold that position for the third time.

The next few years passed in relative piece to the outside world, but inside the Darkstalkers, turmoil erupted.  Unhappy with the co-leadership he shared with Starwind, Cicero caused no end of problems from inside the guild.  The bickering between the two became legendary within the family, while to the outside world, they seemed dutifully committed to each other.  If you are in wonder as to why, ask Mordread M. Mauvdrakos, as he insisted that they were married, though they never were.

Devastation rocked the family on the 19th day In the month of the Hammer [January] in the Dalereckoning year of 2000. Starwind and Cicero fought in a match to the Death.  It was the Grand Mistress who prevailed in the battle and sent Cicero's spirit to the Underworld.  At that time, Starwind once again ascended into sole leadership of our family.  She remains there to this day.

We continue forward in our lives and with each passing day we create more volumes to be added here later.

Signed on this day, the 24th of Kythorn [June], in the Dalereckoning year of 2001,