Warm greetings to all honored Visitors and Guests
Welcome to our TESG Birthday Party -- Hail and well met!
THE ORIGINS OF THE ELDER SAGES GUILD
The Elder Sages Guild (TESG) was born August 31, 2013, under NDA during the ESO Closed Beta.
Most of our founding members met on the ESO Beta Forums. Foreseeing the benefit Guilds could bring to ESO, finding much in common, and sharing a vision of an open, friendly, helpful guild, The Elder Sages Guild was formed during an early Beta test session for Guilds.
Early TESG "Book" Logo with our Motto
THE TESG PERSPECTIVE TO GAMING
Here is an overview of the TESG perspective, paraphrased from our Guild Charter:
'Then, as now, we come together in the spirit of cooperation, sharing, and preserving the values set forth by Bethesda Game Studios, that players should have freedom in games. That being said, we encourage everyone to experience the game however they want.
Members are free to experience both sides of a story, whether in ESO or any other game. No one is required to participate in group events or be shunned for missing a raid or PvP run. All are encouraged to join multiple guilds. Just be aware that other guilds may not hold these same values so be guided by the guidelines and requirements of individual guilds.
We encourage all members to share their discoveries on our TESG Forums for the benefit of guildmates. If you join us, you'll find tips about dungeons, Skyshards, PvE quests, anything someone found interesting. To keep it fun, spoiler warnings are posted where applicable. Members can arrange Guild-oriented Groups for planned game play, and to participate in Groups as opportunities arise, but are by no means required to do so.'
GUILD DOCUMENTS AND TRADITIONAL GUILD LORE
Anyone is welcome to read our Guild Charter, Code of Conduct and official guidelines in Guild Documents.
On the Lore tab at the top of each page enjoy our traditional Guild back story, written by our Founding Members. An excerpt from the opening paragraph :
Ancient Origins of The Elder Sages Guild
Our Most Sacred Lore
by
Lord Luciendar, Anthon Casdha, and Frodo’s Bane
"Let Lore Be Your Armor"
The ancient Founders of our Guild, the Elder Sages, were blessed with the Sight, that rarest of all powers: the gift to See into possible futures. What they saw there terrified them. They knew that the currents of Time and Chaos could not be turned back. They acted as one. The Times of Building had come.
ESO BETA WITHDRAWAL AND OUR REMEDY: CREATING A TESG WEB PRESENCE
Early members soon found themselves going through "ESO withdrawal" between irregularly scheduled Beta Test session. With the permission of ZOS_GinaBruno, Assistant Community Manager (English), our first web presence was our private, invitation-only, Facebook page -- which is still ongoing. (Drop by and give us a "Like".)
We soon obtained ZOS permission to create a private, invitation-only Guild web site, operating strictly under the ZOS Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). During NDA, applicants first had to be confirmed as ESO Beta testers with a valid ZOS Account ID.
Once our site was launched TESG Members could finally get together between Beta sessions when the ESO Beta Forums were closed. Our TESG site gave 24/7 access -- an exciting concept at the time. Since all members were confirmed Beta testers, on our TESG Forums we could freely discuss ESO. It was a fantastic opportunity to share our experiences, ideas, suggestions and feedback about the ongoing development of ESO, under the protection of the NDA.
We also spent time organizing our Guild structure, developing our Guild Charter, Motto, Ranks, Forum structure and Rules of Conduct. This was an exciting Time of Building, to quote our Lore.
With the lifting of NDA, our Membership Application was simplified and the approval process streamlined. The widget at the bottom of the left column on our Home Page opens our short Membership Application. Answer a few questions, create a guild User ID (a friendly user name), then click Submit. Our only hard and fast rule is: "No Trolls Allowed -- Even If Recently Washed!"
After completing the short Application you can expect a quick response by an Master Sage or Officer, usually within 48 hours. No Dwemer-bots here. 
ON TO THE BIRTHDAY PARTY!
Visitors and Guests are invited to join the TESG Birthday activities, starting at 3:00PM EDT in the Ebonheart Pact city of Davon's Watch.
As I've mentioned elsewhere, Party hats are optional!
We chose Davon's Watch to "reprise" our March, 2013, End of Beta Bash. We'll take new Group Photos including our honored Guests. Please share your video captures to document the celebration. Just post a link to your YouTube upload in this thread. Videos could be featured on our Home Page!
Prizes will be awarded, including several ESO Gift Cards, and possibly a Palomino horse to add to some lucky player's stable.
From Davon's Watch we'll form small and large Groups to venture elsewhere in Tamriel. A likely destination is Riften! Offer your suggestions for PvE explorations, dungeon delves, Skyshard hunts, Craft mat searches, or other group activities to share as a Guild adventure.
Visitors and Guests who are interested in joining our in-game Guild, /whisper to Guildmaster @ArenLiore, or @Auldjohn and @Highrisedrifter, Master Sages, for an invite.
Thanks for helping us celebrate our first birthday! Sign our Guest Book by posting a reply comment in this thread. Enjoy the party, and Have Fun!!
Admin Note: All links open in a new tab or window. Verified and approved: Auldjohn, Master Sage, 30Aug2014.
