Arcane Valor began with a concept based on the lore of World of Warcraft - to have a medium to heavy role-play guild filled with hidden heroes. The word *arcane* is not meant in a magical sense, but in the sense of "something hidden from view". And the word valor speaks for itself - it has to do with honor, courage, fidelity, commitment; all the things one would imagine embodies an ideal based light and truth.

From that concept, Arcane Valor was born on February 1, 2006, starting with a small group of friends and has been growing slowly since that time. One of the challenges we have always faced is that that we are not focused on any one aspect of WoW as many guilds are. We have a broad appeal and encourage diversity within the ranks. This is not a bad thing at all, but it does make it much more of a challenge to *define* the guild or give a clear mission statement.

We were originally a guild of "squishies". With the help of a former guild member, we came up with the idea of being a guild populated with tenderhearted comedians who were trying to fight off the darkness overtaking Azeroth with their humor. We developed a "Gnome Legend" that a Squishy was a Gnome of extreme softness and charm. (Think Pillsbury Doughboy and you will get the idea.lol.) To bear the title of Squishy was an honor reserved for those who exemplified the cheery disposition granted to the wee-folk. And so we recruited people who were interested in having lighthearted, squishy fun while maintaining a high level of kindness and respect for others in the guild, no matter the season, no matter the profession.

From those humble beginnings, we have grown into a relatively tight-knit and prosperous guild with about 50 individual members with varying degrees of participation, most of who are mature adults. However, with the release of the Burning Crusade and the opening of the Dark Portal, Arcane Valor has embarked on a more serious direction. While we remain squishy of heart, we have transformed into a guild filled with valiant knights who come from the shadows intent on fighting the Burning Legion back to the Twisting Nether. This is intended to add a bit of a darker, more intense edge to the role-play and hopefully will open up more role-play opportunities for those enjoy life in the deep-end of the role-play pool.