A huge collection of silicon chips and spinning disk drives in San Diego is the only physical embodiment of the world of Norrath, the subject of the game Everquest. Dozens of copies of Norrath exist, each with a different name and different inhabitants. One of those copies is called Prexus, sometime home of thousands of players of the game. In that virtual world, a strange and dangerous place, it is a good thing to band together with friends for help, safety, and companionship. In Everquest, such a band is called a guild, and on Prexus, one such guild was called Harmony of Souls.

Harmony of Souls was created in early 2000 by a gnome necromancer called Bonecaster and a wood-elf bard called Koikeeper. Friends out of the game, they wanted a guild that could be both casual fun and a hardcore army.

Harmony started small, but its style attracted people from other similar guilds that ran into trouble. As time passed, Harmony acquired members from guilds such as Solar Prexus, Valiant Few, Bonds of Faith, and Revelry and Honor. Harmony for a time was a member of the Genesis Alliance, a coalition of smaller guilds bent on defeating larger targets than their numbers supported. The Genesis Alliance ended but Harmony continued setting its sights for larger targets, sometimes calling upon friends from guilds such as Twilight Avengers, Fallen Alliance, Legerdemain, Unity, Nameless Order, and Keepers of the Faith.

The desire was always there in Harmony to have it all, to be a family guild and a raiding guild that could defeat the toughest encounters in the game. The amazing thing about the guild was that it walked that tightrope for over three years. The landscape of guilds changed and mutated, its players struggled to balance the game and guild commitments in already full lives that often did not understand the pull of magic and dragons. Harmony progressed through the additional game expansions Kunark and Velious and started on the Planes of Power, sometimes losing its balance a little but always getting it back.

Harmony's key to its success was a mix of personalities, some casual, some hardcore, diplomatic or fiery, analytic or impulsive. Koikeeper the ultimate authority; Bonecaster his chief advisor; and officers including Aliccia, Awulfie, Azurill, Dragomirus, Espirito, Faunis, Fishbeak, Jaye, Orko, Sepa, and Sydny. The membership was a motley group of players. Behind each in game character you might find someone young or less young, a businessmen or student, mothers, fathers, friends, fellow soldiers. Each brought something unique to the complex endeavor that was Harmony.

Souls hugged and fought, gave of themselves selflessly and bit and scratched like angry cats. There would be conflicts that roiled the membership, followed by reconciliations that brought them together again. Some left before Harmony disbanded, but looking back shows us that all that once stood under the banner of Harmony were forever changed by this shared experience.

Souls were always there to help each other. From completing tasks as defined by the game called Epic quests, to raiding or staging attacks in zones like Kedge Keep, Chardok, the Planes of Hate, Fear or Sky. After each character in the guild equipped the weapon reward from their epic quest the Souls continued to band together selflessly. Souls were willing to drop everything to help their fellow members. Guild endeavors included getting everyone a Protection of the Cabbage earring, helping members complete tradeskill based quests like the Coldain Ring and Shawl quests.

Over the years, Harmony of Souls left its mark in many parts of Norrath. Raiding developed from spectacular defeats to well tuned maneuvers through zones like The Hole, City of Mists, Trakanon’s Teeth, Kael Drakkel and beyond.

Koikeeper was often heard to say there was nothing better than killing dragons, an obsession that soon took over the entire guild. Bonecaster’s raids against Nagafen and Vox grew to legend as these dragons fell to their swords and spells. Souls killed Faydedar so often he howled in despair when he saw the banner of Harmony of Souls approach him.

Nothing awakened their lust for dragon blood like Velious, though. The Western Wastes beckoned, and Souls made the dangerous passage through Sirens' Grotto to that cold, forbidding land. Killing dragons is a difficult art, and Harmony learned from many encounters to make the lesser dragons of the Wastes fear them. Then the Souls descended into the valley of Veeshan's Temple and made it their own, taking the measure of the temple’s guardians one by one.

At last they entered the Temple itself, and pitted their wits and strength against the mightiest dragons of Norrath. They spent months in the West Wing, honing their skills. Then they moved to the north, the home of the great lizards, and slowly brought it to heel. Many a dragon fell, as did many a Soul, but at last all had been defeated, from the lowly Triplets to the mighty Aaryonar.

With the opening of the Planes of Power the Souls plunged in with gusto killing the giant crocodile Untel’Dak and with typical determination and coordination pushed through the trials in the Plane of Justice and quests to kill giants in the Plane of Storms for access to the Bastion of Thunder. They invaded Terris Thule’s land of nightmares taught her lessons of humility.

As the game developed from three continents to a much larger world with five continents, a habitable moon, and alternate planes, Harmony was there. Over three years had passed since a game master had approved the charter and presented Bonecaster with the banner for Harmony of Souls. While logged in its membership saw much accomplishment, gained unexpected friendships many of which transcended the game.

For those that carried the banner, Harmony grew larger than this simple game and extended to daily interaction on message boards, phone calls, instant messaging and gatherings in cities across the country. Logged out of character the guild saw and celebrated many things including graduations, weddings, births and relocations. The guild shared music in its famous message board thread, ‘What song is in your head?’; debated politics hotly, much to Koikeeper’s dismay; and played the occasional joke like the creation of funny signature files for members to use on the message boards, such as the infamous Bone’ Castur sig and Jaye’s masterful photorealistic stick figures.

The levity and hospitality of Harmony was known by many on Prexus. The guild was held in high esteem on the server and the guild tag was hailed and greeted warmly as a testament to its reputation. At Everquest gatherings called Fan Faires the Harmony crowd was large and attracted many folks who wandered over to find out what all the laughter was about.

In May 2003 Harmony of Souls disbanded. The careful balance of the guild was offset by the retirement of Koikeeper. At Koikeeper’s last council there was much debate and concern for the fate of Souls. The hard decision to disband was made.

What can be said about an ending that is new? There were tears and sadness, war stories and laughter. Some were absent, unable to face the end of our time. Starting in 1999 over 200 individuals purchased a computer game, logged in and found themselves belonging to something more complex and special than a mere internet diversion. Spanning the country and even the globe, different generations and lifestyles came together and intertwined their lives. The end of this unexpected treasure was difficult for all, even those whose paths had led them away from guild or game. Though Harmony of Souls no longer roams the lands of Norrath, all can take comfort that in the fierce roar of rangers… er warriors, each giggle and yelled, "PIT", each debate of pie vs. cake, each bum wiggle, and each step of life’s journey the spirit of Harmony lives in the hearts of those that once stood beneath its banner.