There is a debate amongst historians, social scientist, and the like as to whether social movements give rise to those men we associate with them or a few insightful men give rise to social movements. It is an interesting debate that has gone on for quite some time. I tend to fall on the side that social movements propel some few people to the forefront. Did Julius Caesar conquer Gaul or did the mass of Roman will conquer Gaul? I think one can safely say that without the legions and the will of Rome behind him, Julius would never have conquered Gaul.
Several thousand years ago the Roman Empire fell under the capricious rule of Caligula. " Would that the Roman people had but one neck!" he has been famously quoted as saying. But Rome did not have one neck and Caligula was foiled in his desperate effort to destroy that which reared him. Rome was not a place but an idea carried forth by the multitudes who believed in that idea. Would Gaul have been conquered without Julius? Yes, it most certainly would have. The conqueror’s name would be different, the timing may have changed, the circumstances as well, but the inevitability of it is clear.
Why Rome? My point being, the best thing, by any stretch, about Castles and Crusades is the mass who wills it forth. The fans. You of course. Without those who play the game, Castles and Crusades would be nothing more than a sheave of notes stuck in a red notebook on a shelf (or more likely used as kindling for a bonfire). There was, it seems, a confluence. Stephen and I were rightly positioned at the right with an almost right idea that only needed a spark to ignite its fire. The will for a simple game, that embraced its roots, but that needed to grow new branches, was in the air in the early 2000s.
Imagine, if you will, 2003 (maybe ’04 or ’05). By happenstance Stephen had become friends with Gary. We were eating dinner at one of his favorite restaurants and The Game came up, more a philosophy of The Game. At the convention of that year, we here at TLG were rendering our own nascent game (which can still be found in a few collector’s dens) as we were dissatisfied with the complexity of the then current iteration. There were also so many people we met (many of whom have become friends) who echoed a similar frustration and desire for something a little less and a little more. The collective will of that convention quite simply pushed us forward in a direction we had, up to that moment, never envisioned.
It is to you we all owe our undying gratitude and thanks. Without you, TLG would be something else entirely. The mantle is in your hands, not ours. You, the fans, rule your worlds by the instruments you guided us to make. We are but pawns in your game.
I have also only ever once come across such a good group of people. As an archeologist I was essentially homeless and living in the woods and various hotels for almost fifteen. Both that lifestyle and profession attract a very specific type of person. Good people all. I can say the same for the all the fans of CnC I have met. The kindest, most understanding, and generous group people I have ever met. Sorry guys though, you'll never drink as much as archaeologists. We got that market cornered and were it not for living in abject poverty (and unbridled happiness) at the time, i am sure archeologist all tilt to the windmill and would, were the pennies there, end up in a halfway house somewhere.
I hope the coming weeks provide you with all you ever hoped and dreamed.
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