Shambhala

Shambhala, the refuge of the damned, is an underground spinoff site of the Total War Center, founded by Osceola and The Sundance Kid in October 2008 (as well as recruiting Boeing to do the technical work), as a response to both TWC's strict Terms of Service, which many members felt were castrating free speech on the site, and Anagennese, the more famous and high-profile spinoff site of TWC. The Sundance Kid had been a member of Anagennese and noted how it had maintained its elitist attitudes towards new applicants, and wanted to create a similar haven where anyone could join if they wanted. The site is currently ruled over by the ESFTS #7, although this has been dismissed as an ancient myth.

The city of Shambhala is, according to legend, built over the final resting place of the Ark of the Sundovant. The spot is known only to Sundance himself, a secret he guards closely.

Joining

Joining Shambhala could not be easier; the link is available by messaging any member, especially Sundance, Boeing, Magic Man or Osceola (though the latter two are currently suspended). Once there, an account is freely creatable and all forums open to all members. So far in the 3 months the site has been open, only two members have been banned:

Trobalov - For being annoying, idiotic and a conspiracy theorist.

Saneel - For being perceived as a racist moron. Saneel was later let back in after he was determined to be awesome. It is currently believed that Saneel is indeed Niko Belic, the protagonist of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV.

GH@Z!-Self own4g3...typed random letters into the password changer.

The Administrators retain all rights to ban people they believe are detrimental to the site as a whole, yet will review their decisions if a public outcry is made. This clause was added due to the disputed banning of Magic Man from the Anagennese forums in Summer 2008, as he was let in to the site after a member voted yes on him multiple times, giving him a majority that was later noticed and corrected.

Content

There are forums for all possible types of discussion on Shambhala, including a general chatroom, games discussions, the arts and many more. There are absolutely no swear filters, however, and more importantly, Tony83 has taken to posting pictures of his penis, so one must be warned that they join at the risk of their own tender innocence.

There have been six 'eras' of Shambhala so far:

• Shambhala Original
• Bagelhala - A Bagel Theme (presided over by King MacBagel I)
• Ye Olde Shambhala - A Medieval Theme
• Sham Diego - An 'Anchorman' Theme
• Shirebhala - A Lord of the Rings Theme
• Kemetbhala - An Ancient Egyptian Theme
• Naboohala - A short-lived attempt to vilify Episode I
• Coruscanthala - A Star Wars Theme (and the current theme)

The February Tremor

In early February 2009, the glorious land of Shambhala was attacked from within by terrorist elements, who had wormed their way into the site's inner circle through subtle politics and treachery. In a surprise move during the early hours of a cold winter morning, the terrorist cell struck at the heart of the Elite Strike Team Force Squad #7 Headquarters, deposing and exiling King Sundance I from the site and murdering the remaining members of the Strike Team, before sabotaging the Headquarters themselves deep in the Sogdian Uplands. He then promoted Justinian, Curator of TWC, to an Administrative position, before committing Seppuku with his accomplice.

Left reeling in the wake of the attack, a seriously wounded Boeing managed to get word to Sundance in exile, who returned to his kingdom. As Boeing sent message to his leige, Justinian, the new first man in Sham, seeing the full devastation of the land, appointed Boeing and The Fuzz to their old positions before honourably resigning, earning himself the title "Saviour of Shambhala". In secret and avoiding the authorities of the puppet government put in place by the terrorists, Boeing devised a cunning plan to retake the kingdom. Sundance and Magic Man, his age-old accomplice would carry it out. Magic Man, working his way into the mainframe of the palace, temporarily gave all members Admin CP access, allowing the exiled king to enter and reclaim his admin access. The member guarding the palace gates at the time was Saneel, and neither knew whether he could be trusted. In a desperate bid to buy his liege-lord some time, Magic Man distracted Saneel with some Velociraptors and Jurassic Park dialogue, allowing Sundance to sneak by. In the ensuing hours, the Elite Strike Team Force Squad was reassembled, and the kingdom returned to peace. The Elite Strike Team Force Squad#7 are currently hunting down the remains of the terror cell.