As far as I'm concerned, players aren't things that "belong" to any group or any AM. You have to earn their loyalty. You earn it by working your hardest to be the best AM you can be and communicate with players and make them feel valued. Sometimes, it even means you have to let them go and explore elsewhere. I used to talk to my AM all the time ... we were close friends and I was one of the top players in her group. She was 15 years younger than me but as wise as a sage. I told her that another fellowship, one that was number 1 in FA and got more chests, had recruited me, and I didn't want to be disloyal so I refused. That brilliant woman told me, "If there is any part of you that wonders what it would be like to be in that top group, then maybe you should try it and see if you like it. I know how much you love the FA. I'll leave the light on for you when you come home ... no matter how long that takes."
I left and joined that group, and it took me over six months to realize that I had left the best AM on the planet, and the place where I felt the happiest, most needed, and most respected. I wrote to her and said, "You were right, and I'll always love you for it. You let me see what was out there, which is what I needed, and now I'm ready to come home." She welcomed me back. She said at the time, "And just in time, too." I didn't know what she meant by that, but I found out before long ... she had a serious illness, Graves Disease, which has a very high mortality rate. She had always wanted me to be the next AM, but she never once asked me until I came home. She didn't want to burden me with guilt. She wanted me to KNOW where I wanted to be ... not either stay or return out of loyalty.
She named me AM 6 months later, when she was too ill to play anymore and I never heard from her again. I honor your memory, TMWC. That's what a real AM should be. She/he should not think of her players as a commodity .... a player is a human being who must be allowed to try their wings, find out where they belong, and not be saddled with an AM who thinks of them as serfs belonging to the serfdom. If I had never been given that opportunity, I would have spent my time in Thornwood always wondering.
During my time as AM, I always had a "I'll leave the light on for you" mentality with my own fellowship members. I used to tell members that Thornwood is not a prison ... players are always free to explore. I had some top members leave and then return and tell me they never want to be anywhere else ever again. THAT'S how you build loyalty ... by being the home that players can't forget. And once they come back after having their time "in the world" .... they know they want to be with you and are unlikely to ever leave again.
Now I'm in a "sister/resting" fellowship, meant for Thornwood's top players who need a break but can't bear to leave the group. Thanks to a wise sage called TMWC, I will never cut ties with Thornwood and am "unpoachable."
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Your Elvenar Team
But who am I to say what someone else wants?