The Golden Horde March 2024 Update

The Golden Horde

Alliance | Discord

Membership: 61

Rank: 16 | Score: 290,190

Great Khan: Buorhann

Kiyat-Borjigin: Rein

Beklare-Bek: Tachi 

High Khan of Foreign Affairs: Kastor

High Khan of Internal Affairs: Masterchief

High Khan of Internal Affairs: Salvarity

High Khan of Military Affairs: Charles IV

High Khan of Military Affairs: Henry

High Khan of the Treasury: Floyd

High Khan of the Treasury: Sniper

Individual Profile - Elros Tar-Minyatur

Former Grand Master of the Witcher Order, Advisor to the Great Khan on the Kurultai Council

Salvarity: Hey Elros! Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. First off, lets establish just who I am talking to! 

What's your current PnW identity, on Discord and in-game?

Elros: My identity in game is Elros Tar-Minyatur. My nation name is the Reunited Kingdoms of Numenor. My discord ID is IamLegend256, but I also go by Smitty.

Salvarity: Any prior identities or have you been Elros forever?

Elros: I have gone by Smitty since 2015. I started using IamLegend256 in 2017(ish). I decided to go with Elros Tar-Minyatur in game because I wanted to create a LOTR theme nation. My nation in CN is GoT themed.

Salvarity: Ah Cybernations, many in Politics and War originated there. When did you first start in CyberNations?

Elros: I started playing CN in May 2015. I got into it because my Dad plays CN and has since 2006. My nation in PnW is technically my 2nd nation that I have created. I originally tried playing in like 2019(ish) but couldn't get into it.

Salvarity: I've heard of uncles introducing their nephews and such to the game, but a parent/child? That's a first for me. How long until we get Elros Sr. into the alliance?

Elros: Heh, I watched my play CN for years. He's an old curmudgeon 😂 He doesn't have time to play another game like PnW.

Salvarity: Probably for the best.

Elros: 🤣

Salvarity: Now, you're currently in The Golden Horde, used to be in The Witcher Order/The Forgotten Realms. Any alliances on PnW prior to those?

Elros: I was in The Legion for about a month when I first started playing. But they knew that we were planning on creating TWO/TFR when we first joined.

The Legion taught us the basics and helped us get to a spot where we can launch TWO/TFR.

Salvarity: Great to hear that y'all had some support at the beginning, but sounds like pretty much your entire PnW experience was TFR/TWO prior to TGH.

Elros: yes

Salvarity: Now, lets talk about TWO/TFR

Where did TFR originate? Was it your idea, a group of friends, or something else?

Elros: Our community comes from the alliance Freehold of the Wolves in Cyber Nations. All of our core members came from FTW.

Rashek DM'ed me in late July 2022 about creating an alliance in PnW. So he and I are the co-founders of the alliance.

Salvarity: So that explains the name of your offshore, saves me a question there too.

Why did TFR rebrand to TWO? Where did TWO's theme originate? 

Elros: We were having problems with recruiting is the biggest thing. When we created the alliance, we wanted to recruit fantasy fans but couldn't decide on 1 single theme, so we decided to use an amalgamation of themes. 

When we decided to rebrand, it came down to The Witcher Order and Lord of the Rings. We decided to go with TWO because The Witcher universe is pretty popular right now. Plus, I love The Witcher so it was easy for me to get behind.

Salvarity: Definitely a cool theme. I still need to finish The Witcher 3 but we'll come back to that

Elros: I have beat the game and DLC's 3 times

Salvarity: So Freehold of the Wolves came to Politics and War in 2022. Now by 2022, PnW was already a rather mature game and most other CN alliances which had come over, had come over years ago. When you envisioned TFR/TWO, what were you hoping to achieve?

Elros: We essentially wanted to bring FTW to PnW. FTW in CN is a very powerful alliance. We are currently ranked 5th, but we have been as high as rank 3 before. 

We're heavy hitters in CN 😉

Salvarity: I see.

Now, last question related to TWO. What will you miss most about TWO as a standalone alliance?

Elros: The theme definitely. Like I said, I love The Witcher. The independence is definitely nice, but it is definitely difficult at times.

Salvarity: Well, thankfully I don't think the theme will be completely lost, TWO will live on as part of TGH's identity.

Elros: absolutely

Salvarity: Now continuing on with the merger. Where did the idea of a merger originate & what made TGH different from the other options out there?

Elros: Rein messaged me saying that he and Kastor had been talking and that the merger convo kind of came up naturally. He added me to the convo, and it seemed like the right move. TWO and TGH are very similar in culture, mentality, and the way our govs did things. It seemed natural to us.

Salvarity: Kastor strikes again

Elros: basically 🤣

Salvarity: Speaking of TGH's gov. Who in TGH are you most excited to work with?

Elros: I love the way that Buorhann works and thinks. He leads the way that I try to do it. Though my problem was staying active as he is.

I really like Kastor though. I am excited to work with him. I am excited to work with and get to know everyone else.

Salvarity: And in terms of working, what's something from TWO that you would like to bring over to TGH?

Elros: the gov structure I think. Though I admire how the high gov is able to govern without much oversight from the Great Khan. I gave my gov the same freedom, and they have always worked well together because of it.

Salvarity: Conversely, what is something TGH has that you wished TWO had?

Elros: the community engagement. Our member base didn't do a lot of engagement with us, though we did our best to engage them.

Salvarity: TGH's community is definitely special, but I'm certain the infusion of TWO's community will help make it even stronger.

Elros: I do as well

Salvarity: Now, lets jump out of PnW for a bit and talk about you as a person.

My favorite question first: do you drink and if so what’s your favorite drink?

Elros: I don't drink nearly as much as I used to. Though when I do, I love a good glass of scotch or an irish whisky. If I drink beer, it is probably Coors Banquet, Heineken, or Corona.

Salvarity: Pretty good taste

What about hobbies? We already talked about video games but is there anything else you're really into? 

Elros: I love hiking and biking. Both my bicycle and my motorcycle. I love spending time outdoors.

I have been wanting to get into music lately. I come from a very musical family. I just never really got into it though. I want to start playing guitar and piano. My mom sings. My dad and brother play the guitar. My little sister plays piano, violin, and saxophone. I really love music. I have been trying to teach myself about music. I love listening to composers.

Salvarity: That's quite the family, hopefully that talent runs in the genes. But I know more than anything it'll be hard work.

Who are your favorite composers?

Elros: Well, I really love modern film composers. Hans Zimmer, Bear McCreary, Ludwig Gorranson, Howard Shore.

Bear McCreary and Hans Zimmer are probably my favorites.

Salvarity: Hans Zimmer is definitely a legend in his own right. I haven't heard much of Bear McCreary but I'll look into them.

Elros: He does a lot of theme music. He did the theme song for The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica, Outlander etc.

Salvarity: Now, we're running a bit low on time. I guess my final question will be to turn the floor over to you. Is there anything that I haven't asked that you'd like to share?

Elros: I guess I'd like people to know that we come from a very warrior based community. We are not afraid of zeroing out our pixels for our friends. Like TGH, we put friendships over pixels, honor and commitment over pixels. We are very excited about this merger. We think it is going to be good for both of our alliances and communities. I believe we are going to mesh well together.