FROM THE DESK OF GOVERNOR WINFIELD - January 15, 2008

Hail my friends,

I am honored to humbly announce the 10th Anniversary of PaxLair on Chesapeake.  PaxLair was founded as a player community on January 19, 1998.  Our 10th Anniversary Schedule is published here.

A long time ago in what seems only yesterday for many of us, we saw a great Realm come into existence called Ultima Online.  This Realm immediately captured our fascination even before we could actually met each other "face to face".  When the gods created the world for us, we jumped right in to discover fantastic sights, beasts, dungeons, and treasures beyond belief.

As we walked, rode, and gated throughout the Realm we met each other.  We found each other in dungeons, in shops, and even in boats on the high seas.  We teamed up in guilds and saved up gold for houses we could care for and store our belongings, lest a thief passed by who we quickly attempted to dispatch into the abyss.

Camaraderie and friendship became the "watch-words" as we worked together, and against each other.

People started to master their skills and the people and gods weRe happy.

Then came the early days of the player-towns--a group of houses formed by a guild or group out of the necessity for a common location to meet one's goals or to experience the Realm in a much broader way.

PaxLair was and is one of those early player-towns.  Formed on Chesapeake Shard by The Band guild, it became noted as a crossroads and a hot-spot for many travelers and peoples.  It was January 19, 1998 when the first building and the first brick were laid down in a sleepy meadow west of the Compassion Shrine on what is now called Felucca, Chesapeake.

Various people flocked to this new town called PaxLair in the months to come with numbers estimating at around 300 interested and involved people.  The gods came too and helped PaxLair work with so many people.  It was fascinating to be a part of this interaction...and at times to see the blood spilled in the town streets.  Soon a working government was needed to control the bloodshed and to help organize the people.

I became the first Mayor of PaxLair in mid-1998 and still continue to be involved, now as the Governor of PaxLair.  PaxLair has became a Statehood of several player-cities on Chesapeake.

PaxLair is much more than a place...a group of buildings...a guild of people...a government structure of mayors and their councils.  It is a vision for persistent cooperation and opportunity for people taking their activities in the Realm two or three steps beyond defeating monsters or other people.  It is a community spread across the shard and the Realm (at times) for people to meet, greet, and have fun.

PaxLair has always been a crossroads not just as a place, but as an idea.  Many people come and go through PaxLair; some stay for years on end; others come back to their roots at a future time.

We are 10 years old on January 19, 2008.  We have not been dormant.  We have not collapsed.  For some reason we continue to trudge along trying new things and old things.  We are not about size or numbers.  We are about quality of life in this Realm.

And in this regard, we are continually inspired by all the player-towns in the Realm who accomplish so much.  For together, we are one community...one unified peoples in a Realm always full of intrigue and wonder.

I humbly invite you to come to PaxLair in our cities during our 10th Anniversary.  We have many events planned, but most importantly...we have an opportunity to meet you.

Our 10th Anniversary Schedule is published here.

Dragonspeed to you all,

Winfield, Governor of PaxLair Statehood