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The Skjaldborg / BORG

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We’re the space viking version of Orks.



History

The Word of Borf

In a fit of brotherhood, booze, and battle, the Word came unto the Speaker and dost was it did be write. This inspiration has lead the Speaker to a new focal point in life, the spreading and the Speaking of the Word.

The Borf is not a deity. One can not come to know Borf without the Mead and the Meat, and without the Borf, the Mead and the Meat cannot be sustained. The snake eats its tail, the dude smokes his own pole, the unbeginning chain resumes without ending. The Borf is inside all of us, as is the Meat and Mead, and only through the expression of said delectables does one come to understanding and fellowship with the Word.

Behold, for here is the naming of the Books of the Word.
  • The Book of Conception – A treatise on the origin of Borf and how we came to understand its Way.
  • The Book of Fellowship – On how the Borf demands that we behave towards one another, in order to stay plentiful in the Meat and Mead.
  • The Book of Rumination – Ponderings of the Speaker, captured as the Word flows through him.
  • The Book of Indulgences – The Mead and the Meat come in a variety of forms.

We are the Skjaldborg

The Book of Conception

Introduction

In the beginning, there was Prohibition. The Great Starvation succored the Others, and there was no joy to be had. Toil and pain, in the full consciousness of sobriety, was all that was Known.

And lo, the Others were misshapen and cruel. Filled with ever present hunger and hatred. They dwelt in all corners of Prohibition, their eyes ever open and searching for the hint of jubilation and joyous revelry. Their bodies did taketh upon the form of their festering anger and became loathsome to behold. And yea, thus it was for millennia, for time unknowing.

But there came a day, the glorious First Fermenting. Upon this day Borf was given unto Prohibition, and its splendor kindled the Chaos. And thus it was, from thence. Borf is. In the First Fermenting, there was Borf and Borf spoke its holy rambling and birthed the Chaos. The Chaos flowed and ebbed, heated and cooled, and soon formed the two materials, liquid and solid. These took the holiest of forms, the Mead and Meat.

Then followed the Great Ignorance. For, though the Borf had come unto Reality, the Imbibing and Mastication had not begun. The Others, ever watchful, scoffed at the gifts of Borf, jealously guarding their familiar Prohibition. Borf was labeled the Great Evil and Scourge, and the Watchers of the Others were set to guard the bounty. And yea, thus it was for millennia, for time unknowing.

There came a time, however, when Borf could no longer be constrained. The Initial Inebriation spawned from the folds of Chaos. A great vessel of the Mead did burst, raining upon the forms of two Others. Thus it was that two Watchers, supposed guardians against the Great Evil, did ingest the golden glory of the Mead. This day, forever after, was known as the First Imbibing. The Borf came upon the Watchers, filling their desiccated forms. The Great Starvation no longer satiated them, and the Craving did come upon them. The first of the Imbibers did then continue their drinking, in secret, always aware of their breaking of the Laws of Prohibition. And thus did they change. Slowly, the new hunger came upon them. While the Mead was satisfying, and brought to Them the whispers of Borf, they were incomplete. And yea, thus it was for millennia, for time unknowing.

Now did the Firsts, forever changed by the First Imbibing, become discovered by the other Others. A great battle ensued as the Others attempted to force Abstention upon the Firsts. For the Others are cruel, the Others are filled with loathing, and the Others feed on misery and sobriety. But the Firsts sang with the song of Mead. This aspect of Borf fueled their struggle, and the Others were beaten back, and the Firsts did escape into the folds of Chaos. Injured, their unknown hunger raging within them, the Firsts did look for remedy. With them in their hiding place, the bodies of Others. And unto the Firsts did the flesh of the Others seem desirous. And the Firsts did feast and Borf was content and declared it good. Thus began the Long Feast. The First Imbibing was followed now by the First Mastication, and together the Mead was joined with the Meat.

Slowly, as the Long Feasting commenced, the Firsts continued to change. No longer did they resemble emanations of nightmare, but now unto them more familiar shapes of Meat were formed. The Mead sang within them, flowing from one end to another, sharing the joyous song of Borf throughout their body. And now was Borf made whole upon the Firsts. Within them the full synergy of Meat and Mead.

The Firsts, sated from Long Feasting did know each other. From them was birthed new beings to live among the Chaos, hiding from the twisted hordes of the Others. These beings were of Borf but not Borf, as they existed within the Universe and not without. The first of these beings was of the Meat, stubborn and strong. The second was of the Mead, gentle and jolly by nature. Yet, within both of them roiled the entirety of Borf. One cannot contain Mead without the fleshy vessel of Meat. One cannot nourish Meat without golden glory of Mead. These first beings did twist and reform from the horrid freakishness inherent in the Others. And these children of the Firsts were thus known to us as Vikings.

Borf sung within their veins, guiding them on the Path. From within the waves of Chaos, the Vikings did hunt, the Vikings did gather. They collected unto themselves other forms of Meat and Mead, which spawned from their own Creation. And all of these did the Vikings cherish, and all did they honor. The song of Borf did sing joyously from the halls of the Vikings and Borf was content and declared it good. And yea, thus it was for millennia, for time unknowing.

And then emerging from Chaos and unto the wider Universe, the Vikings came upon Others, and sought to share with them the joy of Imbibing and Mastication. The Others, who found all joy abhorrent, clung to their Prohibition and became more cruel and vile. The Others were enraged, knowing that the Firsts had feasted upon their fellows during the Long Feast, enabling them to spawn their children. And thus did the Others seek to enslave those Vikings who ventured forth to share in Borf. From them was stripped the freedoms of their birthright. Onto them was force Abstinence. While retaining the same form as their brothers and sisters, they became separated from the glorious Song, imprisoned to a hellish existence.

It was in this time that the Fracture began. With the Others aware now of their existence, all could not remain as it was. It was during this time that the Word of Borf did sing to its chosen peoples. Filled with the Knowledge of Borf, a Viking formed from the Chaos an Axe and took up the defense of the Meat and Mead, to protect these sacred forms from the onslaught to come. And too, his brother, also filled with the Knowledge of Borf, formed from the Chaos a keg and took up the passing of the Word of the Meat and Mead, to bring back the essence of Borf to the brothers and sisters enslaved by Abstinence. Thus began the Fracture of the Vikings of Borf.

While divergent, these brothers recognized the dependency each had to one another, just as the Meat cannot thrive without Mead, and Mead cannot give its Knowledge giving song without Meat through which to flow. Years did pass, and each brother begat a following of their own. As generation upon generation followed their forbearers, the Fracture began to produce rifts within the Vikings.

And yea, thus it was, that the Great Calamity did come upon the Vikings. During a debauched night, in celebration of the Long Feast, did brother fall upon brother, and sister upon sister, and brother upon sister, and sister upon her brother. A great battle raged within the Hall, stemming from a Brother of the Axe, filled with the spirit of Borf, intentionally spilling his Mead upon a Sister of the Keg. A great philosophical argument immediately began. The Faction of the Mead, enraged at the spilling of their most holy of consumables, did take up the position that what had occurred was Most Foul, and should never be allowed to occur during celebration without immediate retribution. The Faction of Meat, ever stubborn, guffawed. Words, flowing with Borf, spewed from each side of the Hall. As passions rose, a Meaty fist was thrown, shattering the Community with violence.

The Great Calamity did commence, and consumed the entire Hall. It spilled from the Hall, then, and engulfed the entire Chaos in which the Vikings dwelt. No longer was Borf honored by all, for the Meat and the Mead was again separated from being. Those who followed the Mead, holding firmly to their grudge about the Wasting, placed the Mead within ever increasing protective layers. Any use of Mead became viewed as waste, and great quantities were gathered, yet not allowed to be Imbibed as Borf would will. The followers of Meat, deprived of the Mead suddenly, fell into a dreadful state. As the warm glow of Borf faded from their veins, the Great Drying Out caused many to be unable to even walk in the harsh Light that burned the Eye and pounded within the Brain. These miserable souls were thus placed upon a Wagon, to be carried from destination to destination. And yea, thus it was for millennia, for time unknowing.

The Great Calamity did not go unnoticed by the Others, who reveled in the bitter split of their enemy, Borf. It was during this time that their sense of superiority lead them to complacency, for they did thus retreat from the Chaos and abandon their enslavement of the captured Vikings from Ages bygone. Confident that the Meat and Mead had been irrevocably torn asunder, they turned their gaze upon other corners of the Universe, seeking to demolish any Joy and Jubilation that might remain. The Enslaved, free from the clutches of the Others, gradually encountered the Fractured Meat, and the peoples were rejoined. Deprived of Mead to give the essence of Knowledge and Life to their bodies, they grew together as one people, the Ignorant. The Old Ways were forgotten. The Word of Borf did flee from their heads and their hearts.

It was also during this time that the followers of Mead, now themselves fully deprived of the Golden Fluid over the gradual Age, did come themselves unto Sobriety and a Great Forgetting. Mead, so long regarded with its rightful Holy Light, was forgotten and ignored. No longer remembering their purpose, they began to wander the Chaos, leaving the great Stockpile of Mead to be lost for time unknown. As with the Enslaved, these poor souls also encountered their brothers and sisters. And yea, thus it was for millennia, for time unknowing, an Age of Ignorance.

Ages forward in time, the Ignorant lived a simple, boring life of Ignorance and Abstinence. Their very nature was rendered incomplete, and the Great Misery was well known. A sense of longing, a sense of regret, filled all of the Ignorants’ hearts. It was thus that Seekers came unto the Ignorant. Dissatisfied with the lonely existence of Meat without Mead to nourish it, they ventured forth throughout the Chaos, they ventured forth beyond the Chaos and out unto the Universe, searching for those pieces of their being that they knew was missing. Long did Seekers of the Ignorant search, finding a great many Wonders, but always they felt the Longing, never sated by their discoveries.

It was unto one of these Seekers that Whispers of Borf did come. Nearly at the end of his Seeking, he did stumble into a long lost Temple of Mead, hidden away in a deep corner of Chaos by the Faction of Mead, millennia past. Parched and near death, the Seeker did search for sustenance and succor within. The Temple, built long after the Fracture, contained little of the Knowledge of Borf but for a meager Stockpile and the rudiments of Recipe. Uncertain of the Golden Fluid, but clinging on to the life of his Meat, the Seeker did Imbibe. A Great Awakening began within him, and the Word of Borf did sing again within the veins of the Children of the Firsts, and Borf was content and declared it good.

This Seeker, the First Speaker of the Word, did take with him the fragments of the Recipe. Long years of study and toil commenced until at long last, the Recipe was successfully followed and once more the Knowledge of Mead was available unto the Ignorant. The First Speaker did Imbibe. The First Speaker did share the Knowledge with those Ignorant who would listen to the Word. The First Speaker, touched by Borf, did rekindle the unity of Meat and Mead. The First Speaker did then, with his Brewmasters and Pitkeepers, take out among the Ignorants in an attempt to bring them back unto their birthright.

Thus it was, not so long ago, that the Word of Borf did come back unto the Universe.

Manifesto

Who are we?

We’ve made some lofty plans and noble goals. We have Skalds spinning tales. We have people dreaming of a multi-headed organization doing bounty hunting, exploration, ship-building, cargo hauling, you name it. Then we proceed to get drunk, goof off, and decide it may be too much work.

Our goals are simple. We seek to spread the Word throughout the Verse. How is this done? That varies by the person. Everyone has their own interpretation of the Word, but if they embrace the Mead and the Meat, they are welcome within our ranks. Our members encompass the vast spectrum of life within this Verse we call our own. We have traders, we have makers, we have takers, we have doers and donters. Above all, community is what we prize the most, and what we strive to build on a daily basis.

All followers of Borf start as Inebriates, who are first able to hear the calling.

Once the glory of the Word begins to digest, Inebriates progress to Stumblers on the Path; those who are actively seeking understanding of Borf but do not yet know the the way.

Next they become Cupbearers; who have found the way and bear with them the divine mead of fellowship to share in fullness with the flock. Cupbearers provide guidance to Inebriated and Stumblers, sharing of their Meat and Mead so that all might be sustained.

Should the Cupbearer be touched by the Word, they may progress onward to Pitmasters, who tend the sacred flames of the barbeque and provide both literal and metaphorical sustenance to the host. No more is one simply sharing of the bounty, but now there is obligation to provide for the fellowship.

From there, they may even become the Brewmasters, who tend to the spirits of Borf’s followers. Without the Mead, the Meat is dry and life less flavorful. Without the Mead, the fullness of the Word cannot be understood.

The highest rank is of course the Speaker of the Word, he who directly receives and drunkenly relates the Word of Borf unto his disciples.

Borf? WTF is that?

Where does “Borf” come from, and what does it mean?

It all started here…

Rignt now and hanging out in the middoe.of the racetrack. One of the alms corvette clguys is driving the racwcar arounnd the camping roads and patric dempsy is wandering around here somewhere…. also ots 50 degrees or skme shit
……. Wwwwooooooooooo. Skdjaldborff!!!!

And thus, was Borf born. ScrewCityChris made a drunken attempt at spelling our name on a phone, and this is the result. We have taken it and run with it, incorporating it in to our “RP” for who we are in Star Citizen. We are the followers of the Word, the Word of Borf.

“Borf” is nothing more than community. It is the principles that we have always strove to meet here, from the day this group started. It is about being a person on the vastness of anonymity that is the internet. It is about playing stompy robits or shootamaships with people you enjoy and having a good, drama free time. That is all we mean when we say “Borf” or the “Word”. It is who we are, distilled into a silly story, because we’re kinda nuts.

How will we be organized?

The Skjaldborg Organization will be broken down into four main Pillars, each Pillar sub-divided into Divisions representing different roles or sub-sets of activities.

Production – The Industry of the Skjaldborg. This Pillar of the Skjaldborg is home to all aspects of creation, from the gathering of material to the end product available for sale.
  • Extraction – This Division specifically covers the collection of raw material. This could be from the mining of celestial bodies, refinement of mineral, the salvage of existing products, or anything in between.
  • Manufacturing – This Division encompasses the transition of raw material into finished product, whether it be durable goods or perishables.
Protection – This Pillar is focused on maintaining order and safety internally, within the Skjaldborg.
  • Naval Security – Covers protection of the Skjaldborg utilizing ship-based assets. This Division provides escort services as well as response to distress calls.
  • Marine Security – The police force of the Skjaldborg that is charged with the safety of all members, from forces external as well as internal. Typically provide Marine components for Naval Security, Transportation, or any other area where boots on the “ground” are necessary. Investigates and resolves internal conflicts.
  • Medical and First Response – This Division is responsible for the health and well-being of our membership. These are our doctors, our trauma surgeons, our paramedics and corpsmen on the front lines of boarding parties.
Projection – A predominantly external facing Pillar, Projection is home to Divisions that deal heavily with the wider Verse, whether it be stretching our knowledge of known space, moving goods and people, or projecting force.
  • Exploration – This Division is filled with explorers who seek to stretch the edges of the map. They map new jump points, they locate new mineral sources or trade partners, they push the boundaries.
  • Transport – The movement of things, from one place to another. This is the trucking arm of the Skjaldborg, long haul or short transit, internal or external. Once a sale is made, goods need to reach the customer, and Transport is responsible.
  • Military Contracting – The mercenary Division responsible for taking external Protection contracts. This is a for-profit enterprise filled with ex-military, para-military, bounty hunters, and other such miscreants.
Public Relations – While Projection does expose the Skjaldborg to external forces, there is often a need for a more tactful approach. When interaction is required in a diplomatic and verbal fashion, PR is there.
  • Sales – This is the selling of anything produced or owned by the Skjaldborg, whether it be goods or services. This could be a store-front owner, a traveling salesman, or a specialist in military contracting who works with the Military Contracting Division to gain new customers.
  • Evangelism – The diplomatic wing of the Skjaldborg that is responsible for interaction with outside Organizations or with the recruitment of unaffiliated Citizens.

Every Division will be headed by an Officer, and report to the Officer in control of each Pillar. The Pillars will report to the Speaker of the Word.

Members may be part of one or more Division, depending on what they feel like participating in on a given day. It will be the responsibility of the Officers for each Division to ensure that they coordinate Member actions within their sphere of influence. For example, the Officer of Extraction would be responsible for managing the raw materials that are gathered by any Member. The Officer of Military Contracting would be responsible for ensuring that we have enough force to meet our commitments to our customer. The Officer of Transport would be responsible for the logistics of moving goods from point A to point B on schedule and on cost.

There will not be a heavily managed list of members for each Division. The goal is to make this a flexible, amorphous blob. Anyone, even Officers, can perform any role. The only difference is that Officers have responsibility for helping to manage the member-base for their area of influence.

Charter

Requirements

  • Currently there is no age requirement, though <18 will have special consideration as to how they would fit in to our gaming community
  • TeamSpeak is required for coordination and socialization
  • Members are expected to keep up to date on our forums, especially the news and events sections. Inactivity will result in AWOL status, further inactivity in removal of membership.
  • Applicants are expected to read, understand, and follow the Code of Conduct
  • Where appropriate, members should be “in uniform”. This could mean having an Org tag or utilizing a unit paint scheme.

Code of Conduct

All members are expected to adhere to the following Code of Conduct.
  • Be excellent to each other. We are all adults, and we are all looking for an enjoyable time online. So don’t be dicks to each other. This applies to your interaction with members as well as non-members. Personal attacks will receive a Warning, whether it is on the forums, on Teamspeak, or elsewhere.
  • Be constructively critical. It is fine to have disagreements and I guarantee that there will be some, but don’t attack the person. If the attack is personal, a Warning will be issued. If the person is simply being non-constructive, moderators will step in to try to get things on track. If the offender continues to be disruptive, they will be Warned.
  • If you say you’ll do something, stick to it, or at least inform people you can’t. We love when people set up group activities, but don’t leave your fellows hanging. If you can’t make something, do your best to let people know. Repeated occurrences of no-show-no-notice will lead to a Warning.
  • Participate in the forums and on Teamspeak. Both are needed for us to be a well rounded community. We can’t get to know each other if we never interact. It is required that you check in on the forums at least monthly, or else you may be removed for inactivity. We cannot track TS participation, but we can take admittedly highly subjective samples from our officers and HR to see if people are ever around, and use that sampling in our inactivity decisions.
  • Check the drama. No one is here because they enjoy being babysitters and mediating personal conflicts. If people are continually disruptive and spreading drama, they will first be asked to stop, then begin to receive Warnings and face possible removal.
  • Show your allegiance, be proud to be Skjaldorg. You’re here to be part of this community, so we would hope you would want to proudly fly our standard in whatever game you happen to be in. This is only enforced in our Official Branches. HOWEVER, there may be exceptions granted.
If the Skjaldborg has an Official Branch in a game that involves competitive guild vs guild interaction, the following applies.
  • Skjaldborg members are expected to play with us, should they begin playing the Official Branch game.
  • All users will default to having access to all Branches once they are promoted to full member.
  • If we find that a member has joined another group for a game listed among our official branches without knowledge of leadership, they will be removed from the Skjaldborg.
  • Games which are not Official Branches ignore these rules. We do not have an official presence within the game, though it is preferred that people still group together and try to form a Skjaldborg group, if possible, as it could some day become Official.
  • In special circumstances, a member can request to be exempt from access to a specific branch if there is a conflict of interest regarding dual-memberships. In that case, the member will have their access to the specific Branches Member section removed, to protect OpSECS!
  • Should a new member join us for one Branch and already be part of another group for an alternate Branch, they will be allowed an exception and will have their Member section access removed for the Game Branch in conflict.
  • Should an existing member desire to join an external game-specific group for a game which has an Official Branch, they must ask for an exception from leadership. If granted, they will have their Member section access removed for the Game Branch in conflict.
  • Members who have a game exception will be ineligible for Skjaldborg community leadership positions (Overseer, Commissar).

Members are expected to follow this Code with each other, but also externally, when they are showing their affiliation to us.

Resolving issues:

The first step in issue resolution should be to take the grievance directly to the offending party. We are all adults and if we take offense, we should be able to talk to each other to resolve the problem without incident. Often times issues that bubble up are caused by the failures of our communication medium, be it text on the forums or misunderstood speech on TeamSpeak. If that doesn’t work, take it to a member of the Borg HR department (Overseers, Commissars, Leader) to address. We are here to serve as mediators and moderators for the community, so use us! Even if the person is not part of the game you play, they are a servant of the entire community. If you have an issue with an Overseer or a Commissar or myself, take it to an alternate HR rep.

Communication:

If you aren’t happy, speak up. Communication is key. Do not feel that you cannot change this group, as we are always attempting to improve. If people do not speak up, however, we will never know if there are problems. Don’t just throw your hands in the air and let things stew until you’ve had enough. We are a community here. If you have an issue with a friend, you do not fix things by just cutting off communication. No good ever comes of that. Give the group the benefit of the doubt and try; I think you’ll be surprised.

Warnings:

Warnings are not the end of the world. They expire. Currently, a warning is removed from the member’s record after one (1) month. If no further warnings are received within this time, you have a clean slate. If the user receives three (3) warnings at any given time, they will automatically be removed from the Skjaldborg community.

Leadership reserves the right to remove continually disruptive members for the health of the community, even if they do not reach the automatic removal criteria.