My only MMORPG sweetheart was 1999’s Asheron’s Call. Lost to history behind Everquest and Ultima Online, the world’s go-alone mentality and skill-dependent gameplay are still unique to the genre today. But it set itself apart by offering subscribers a first: an ongoing storyline wrapped around monthly content updates that continued the battle between the god-like Asheron and devil-figure Bael’Zharon. Although uber-nerds expended the new content on patch day, the top-to-bottom impact on casual gamers was exhilarating.

MMORPGs set themselves apart from other games with their epic tales of in-game culture. World of Warcraft fans know Leeroy Jenkins, and Ultima Online fans will recall the untimely death of Lord British. Likewise, those who played Asheron’s Call will remember the unforgettable “Defense of the Shard”. Many occurrences become synonymous with their MMO, but few shaped their game’s lore like this event did in November 2000.

At the year’s beginning, floating crystals inundated the game world. While most players valued them for their valuable fragments, their backstory cumlinated during the november update. In months prior, players were vocal about the monthly updates, which assumes a “well, so and so happened, and here’s the result” feel that lacked an interactive feel. So in this month, players were set with the task of freeing Bael’Zharon back into the world by destroying the Shard of the Herald. Although players were given the choice to destroy or defend “Harry”, the developers were confident he would be destroyed in time for the next monthly update.

In order to enter the dungeons where the Shard lay, players had to swear allegiance to Bael’Zharon and enter the world of player vs. player combat. The Shard quickly fell on each server…except that of Thistledown, where those who became known as the Shard Vigil manned day-and-night shifts to defend her. In addition to their successful defense, the players sacrificed themselves to the crystal, causing it to grow even more powerful.

The developer Turbine found themselves unprepared to live with two parallel universes of game lore. Playing within the rules of their own game, the company called in a backup plan they established their in-game content months prior:

“But the Shadows loyal to Bael’Zharon had planned for such an occurrence. Months earlier, they had snatched up several of the most powerful monarchs in the land and deposited them on a distant, unknown island. Those willing and able to survive the brutal gauntlet of unforgiving terrain and formidable beasts would be granted power beyond their wildest dreams in exchange for unwavering loyalty to their new lord. Of these monarchs, only two, by the names of Vidorian and Blackthorn, were able to complete this task, and the new “Dark Masters” entered the Hopeslayer’s services.

The two warriors who completed this “gauntlet” happened to play on Thistledown, and for two of the game’s most powerful player-characters, Bael’s favor was to be rewarded. The day prior to the December update, the plan came together. In an interview post-Shard, Nik Davidson recalled the effort and chaos that ensued:

The reality of the matter was that we tried something that we had never really done before — get directly involved in the action, and tell a bit of the story ourselves, so that the plot could continue…[t]o make this all happen and, most importantly, to make it happen in-game and ‘on camera,’ we brought in two admin characters to take care of business.

To set the scene on our end, imagine Jesse at his desk, two computers running. Crowd about four people around him. In the conference room, pile in twenty people, watching a live video feed of the action on a television…[t]he conference room and Jesse are connected via speakerphone. Shouting, chatting, cheering. Add in Dave Namerow, better equipped than most fighter pilots, with a couple messengers and observers on hand. The word is given, and the camera rolls.

Oh, you should have heard the laughter and jeers when Jesse died. (Which paled in comparison to our reaction of people jumping up and down on his corpse!) Let’s just say that this did not exactly run according to the script. Truth is, the event was scripted to be a lot shorter and cleaner — summon the Black Breath, which, aided by Jesse, would clear the room pretty quickly. We’d debuff Harry, to make the crystal mortal again, bring Vidorian in to get the kill, and then get out. Nice and simple.

What actually happened was a little bit eerie. Harold resisted our attempts to alter him. And then, he refused to die. We were worried that perhaps the Shard had achieved sentience. I guess we’ll never know, because we finally figured out how to make Harry vulnerable again, and after an extended struggle, he fell.

Thistledown’s efforts didn’t go unrewarded; the Shard Vigil’s efforts earned a server-exclusive monument for the people who went around-the-clock to ensure a fictional character in an online video game could not be released from his solitude. In a well-played, in-character interview with Gamespy, Bael’Zharon declared he would get his revenge against the Vigil:

shaithis: Here’s something I’ve been wondering about. When players discovered the Shard of the Herald, the device that kept you imprisoned, there was a massive player conflict where people tried to protect the shard while your minions attempted to smash it open. In almost all cases, evil triumphed, as it should. Except on the Thistledown server, where people kept you imprisoned for the duration of the event. How do you feel about that?

Bael’Zharon: Mind your tongue, boy. Only the prejudice of the Yalain calls me evil. I am a force of righteous vengeance for the sufferings my people endured at their hands. Evil? Letting a generation starve in the cold rains was evil! I have only visited upon them the same death they condemned my people to. Is that evil? No! It is justice!

shaithis: I mean, seriously, those bastards are going to pay, right?

Bael’Zharon: Those who protected the Shard pretended allegiance to me. It is clear that they served the interests of my rogue general Isin Dule. Dule will be dealt with. So shall they. The Black Breath shall boil the flesh from their bones. They will become One. They will join the Body, and they will serve us. In one form or another.

Although the popularity of Asheron’s Call has faded, it’s possible no company will match the psychology that defined the Shard of the Herald. If you’re up for seeing a synopsis of this event in all its graphically-dated glory, here’s the official Turbine teaser released for the December update.