Our Name, Our Pride!

The time draws near, comrades, where I will officially be petitioning for a Guild Name Change.  And while I still welcome your input, I felt it is time for you to hear some of my final thoughts on the matter. 

As I've spoken to you, my comrades, regarding this upcoming change, I've heard and felt many things.  One change that I have decided on is the order of the candidate names, as well as some modifications to the List itself.  When I petition, the list shall be as follows:

1. Shadows of the Dawn
   
2. Warriors of the Red Sun
3. Shinobi of the Red Cloud
4. The Crimson Shuriken
5. Doutanuki

These are my thoughts as to why Shadows of the Dawn is my personal preference.  Firstly, the first 3 on the list seems to be the ones that those I've spoken to seem to respond the most to.  But more importantly, I feel this name, Shadows of the Dawn, is the most poetic, and can carry multiple meanings.  One of the strongest traits of the name, Akatsuki, is that it's open to interpretation.  It's a trait that I hope to imbue in our clan identity.  To me, the idea of Shadows at Dawn is representative of the story of the Thrall's Horde.  Symbolically, the Dawn signifies a new beginning, a fresh day.  It represents a new era.  But it is accepted that Night is perceived as the darkest just before the dawn, and even as the first rays of light peer over the horizon, the Shadows that are cast are long and deep.  They are the holdouts of night, even as their source is from the Dawn itself.  They are harbingers of the new day, even as they exist where the Light cannot touch.

This deep symbolism very closely mirrors our stuggle as a guild and as members of Thrall's Horde.  As a guild, we are changing constantly, and I hope we will continue to improve and develope as a community.  The Dawn is both symbolic and literal interpretation of the name: Akatsuki.  Literally, our guild is but a shadow of what it was, but those of us who remain remember the good times past, and seek to reintroduce these qualities, even as we move forward to a new age, a new day, for our community.  

As far as the story, Thrall's vision for the Horde is indeed grand, bright, and good.  But old hatreds and new perils continuously arise to impede this vision from coming to be.  Therefore, before their can be a better tomorrow, we as the Horde must Rage against the Darkness of today.  Many of us won't make it, and many more will, but find themselves out of place.  Indeed, what place does a creature of War have in a world of Peace?  Those who will live such an existence will live as Shadows of the violent past, even as those around them enjoy the Light of the new Era.  But that era has yet to come, and right now, it is in dire peril.  There is still much killing to be done, dark, terrible deeds that are the stuff of evil, but are necessary to serve the greater good.  Those who would be Shadows of the Past in that new day are indeed the Dark Warriors of today, even as the Dawn approaches!

That is what it symbolizes to me, and is why I've chosen Shadows of the Dawn as the first candidate on our list.  I hope that you can see this vision, but also formulate your own interpretations as well.  In fact, even as I write this, I am considering changing it yet again.  Tell me what you think of the name:  Shades of the Dawn.  It seems a bit more inclusive somehow, since Shade doesn't necessarily have to mean "Shadow," it can mean color as well.  The many classes and roles we play, the many pespectives and backgrounds we come from, these can be seen as Shades of a spectrum!  Shades of the Dawn, I kinda like it!

What say you?