Part 1 - The Realm of the Triforce
Hello, good (albeit mostly unknown) friends. Even here I hear the question burning in your minds: What site history? You've naught but been up for a day! True, yes, it is true, as I write this (not type!), I have yet to find a web host for TWL! However, TWL is already steeped in its own rich history, nearly all of which takes place in the Realm of the Triforce. Yes, I'm still Akira, yes, the staff has stayed intact, and yes, much of the Realm's content has been ported to TWL. Thus, I feel it only proper the honor the ancestor of TWL. The Realm was not, I repeat, NOT a failed project, or a failed site, or a failed (just about) anything. Look at most other major or somewhat major Zelda sites' histories, and you'll notice most of them were heavily involved in another site before they opened up their current one (as in, a staff member who did as much as or more than the webmaster, or was the webmaster). It's a learning process, and the Realm taught me a lot (about being a webmaster, and being a better writer)! Now let us embark upon a quest of remembrance, for the Realm of the Triforce. Memory eternal!
Pre-"Winter Break '04":
Before the winter break of '04, you would find me a happy and content Zelda fan, with no knowledge of the online community whatsoever. ALttP showed me Zelda, OoT and MM made me love it, and tWW built a more "intimate" relationship between the Legend and me (not 'I' in this case, or so I believe). Still, my true appreciation for the series had yet to come to fruition.Winter Break '04:
At the beginning of this lovely holiday, my hobby (Which changed as often, if not more, than the seasons, and still yearns to leave Zelda, for whatever twisted reasons. Lucky I have the site, really.) was LotR. Now, how I came upon news of LoZGC, as it was called back then, I do not remember, but that first trailer had set off my hobby-switching instincts, and LotR was left far behind. Over the course of those two blessed weeks, I gradually began to uncover the existence of theories. I decided that I wanted to write my own...December 28, 2004:
I created a ProBoards forum, the Chamber of Sages, and dubbed it a site. Yes, I performed that n00bish act, but, thanks to prior experiences, decided after a few hours that it wouldn't work. I went to bed, thinking...December 29, 2004:
On that day, months ago, I went to work afresh, determined to create a true site. My search for a host, however, did not go so well. I started off with FreeWebs! (*hides*) I now linked to the forum for what it was, but, upon realizing that I could only have seven pages, I went to bed, dissatisfied, and pondered some more...(Thanks to the beauty of e-mail reminders, I was able to discover that this FreeWebs site still exists! As embarassing as this is, I now link to it for you: The ORIGINAL RotT! LOL!)December 30, 2004:
The creation date of the true Realm of the Triforce! It just so happens that I stumbled upon GeoCities, a host that I had tried to use when I was approximately 10, but found it too difficult. (Shoot me, please...-__-") I went to work building the site...(I was also linked to from TGA at this time, which leads me to my next historical item...)January 16, 2005:
This was the day that I received my first two e-mails from Ben! (Yes, I do save a lot of my mail....__.") He had sent me a fanfic and a review, and offered to do more! I still cannot believe my luck in being found by such a helpful person, so early in the site's history...February 20, 2005:
This was the day that the first newsletter was written and sent out. It looked bland and boring, though...March 24, 2005:
The March 2005 newsletter was sent out, looking as dull as ever, a problem that would soon have a solution...March 30, 2005:
Ben joined the non-existent team as the Realm's first staffer! He did an excellent job as advertising manager, considering as how the affiliation thing got rather confusing.
April 1, 2005:
I signed-up for a better hosting plan with Yahoo.April 8, 2005:
We finally move to the new domain, realmofthetriforce.net. (Which is ridiculously long, I'll admit. There, I said it, are you happy now?!)April 11, 2005:
Garrett and Zelda_freak join the staff. And on the same day, too. Talk about more luck!April 16, 2005:
Sharpie joins the staff. A day to remember...-__-"April 30, 2005:
First spiffy newsletter sent out, the design being the courtesy of Ben.May 17-15, 2005:
The Realm is closed for "construction", and re-opens looking nicer, but not really good, I must say.May 30, 2005:
The last RotT newsletter is sent out, looking wonderful once again.June 2005-July 12, 2005:
This period invloved the gradual realization of "The Three Problems" that were hindering our growth.July 12, 2005:
I decide to close the Realm and open up The Written Legend. All of this was told on the Farewell page.July 12-"The Present":
A lot has happened by now, but it's not yet "historical", so I won't write about it much. More info will come when I can view what's happening now in hindsight. I will mention the fact that it's taken so long for me to write this that I've found a web hostI'll miss the Realm of the Triforce, but look forward to and wish the best of luck for the future of The Written Legend! Words may Travel Fast, but we're also Home to the Hidden Power! T__T...
-Akira
August 9, 2005 (The day this was finished being written, not typed and uploaded to the site.)