Ahem, well, okay, I exaggerate.

Actually, SotE was originally created on a whim. Ages before this SotE opened, when I was around the tender young age of thirteen or fourteen, I created a similar site called Spirit of the Wolf, which was hosted on Angelfire if that gives any indication of how long ago that was. Yes. Spirit of the Wolf. It was originally a wolf RPG, though then I decided that I wanted it to include a lot of animals (no humanoids), so I changed the name to Spirits of the Earth. That site, however, was created just for fun; I never opened it to the public, I pretty much just wanted to experiment with creating a website.

Good thing, too, ‘cause it sucked.

Years and years later, in December of 2000, I managed to get a hold of Photoshop and lo and behold, the urge to experiment struck again and I whipped up a website. The website? Spirits of the Earth! I remembered my old, shoddy creation and, well…silly as it was, that old website had a special place in my heart, so I wanted to see if I could recreate it and improve my original concept. Just for fun. Again, I never intended to open it to the public…I was just fooling around. Yet the more I developed the site, and with my old RP haunt, The Everlasting Heart Territory, dying…I figured I might as well just give running an RPG a shot and see what happened. Besides, I was having difficulty finding an RPG which allowed the amount of freedom, flexibility, and creative license I desired, and as it goes, if you can’t find a place that’s right for you…you make one!

I never once dreamed that SotE would be even remotely successful. To be honest, the site was an eyesore, it had the most boring advertisement (pure text), and it’s utterly embarrassing to look back on the original, but…I worked hard on it. Whereas many sites shut down within a few weeks of opening after getting few to no players, I kept on it, but I still didn’t have very high expectations. A few members trickled in, most left, yet a few stayed. It was those few loyal members who made all the difference—and who still make all the difference.

When SotE hit the six month mark, that was around the time it really started to pick up, and from there, well, the rest is history! SotE has changed and evolved a lot since the original barebones concept, but change is good—it keeps the ideas fresh, exciting, and different, and that’s what I’ve always strived for with SotE.

SotE may have started out as a frivolous experiment over six years ago, but ever since then it has become much, much more than that to me. It’s what has inspired me in my writings and other artistic endeavors and, not only that, but it has inspired others through the years. That my little fluky brainchild has matured into something this big, something that other people have come to love and enjoy…that really means a lot. And more valuable still are the friendships that have formed through this game.

Needless to say, SotE has exceeded my every expectation, and it's all thanks to you, the members. Without you, there would be no SotE. With you, SotE will continue to thrive and flourish for ages to come. I definitely couldn’t do it without you, and it is your creative ideas, plots, characters, contributions, and you that makes this place what it is.

Thank you.
♥ Rhiannon McHugh, AKA Rhi-Rhi