History of {hLk}

One day over four years ago I found the multiplayer online option of my unreal game. I found a server run by Spaz (spazunreal) and he ran only custom maps. So Krank and I visited his server often. The word newbie cannot descibe how badly we played. But being ignorant of our own lack of skills, we did not let this bother us. We grabbed the amp on ShanesNalicastle (on of our fav maps), the invis, etc.. And we liked it and thought it was funny. However we still sucked, lol. So anyway the good Spaz took us under his wing and showed us how to combo, and other moves that were muchly appreciated.

After a few months of online play, I emailed Spaz and asked him to assist me in setting up a server. He was kind enough to take the time to show me how to run a server, load maps, etc.. etc.. So again much owed to the great Spaz for his infinite kindness. This is something I pay back to the community when I help others clan and non-clan setup and run their servers. I hope they pass it on as well.

Anyway my love for custom maps just grew and grew as I had found a website with all the U1 maps (the old nalicity website). So I loaded a bunch of off the wall maps and strangely enough people played on my home cable server. Seems others were tired of the elitist crap going on the other servers that played reg maps like the dreaded deck16 among others. So they played on my server. We didnt mind the lag while peeps downloaded, we just stopped playing till it went away and then resumed. Had 3 regular players every night and then assorted others from the general U1 community. Trustmechris (now {hLk}Chris), Dookie (later to gain fame as LPB leader), Viper (also to later gain infamy as a member of DSW and then founder of LW), and of course myself Havok (no introduction needed), played every hour that we could. Soon Trustmechris joined a clan or two (h20, and I actually forgot the other one), and Dookie went to LPB, and Viper to DSW. So I continued on as the bizarre server running fool that I was (still am?).

Some time went by and then Trustmechris and I got to talking as he was dissatisfied with his past clan memberships. So between the two of us we decided to start up a clan (June 2001). Of course since I had the server we called the clan Havoks Little Killers {hLk}. Believe it or not we actually convinced others to join our ragtag clan and then we were official. The first months of the clan were rough, as we were fairly disorganized as any new clan tends to be. However we picked up some really cool members who all had great ideas on how to make the clan better. Troa, Krank, Chris, James_d, Wizz, Notsogoodguy, Deathstalker, Terrordream, Lord Destroyer, all pitched in and began to shape the clan into the longstanding beacon of light in a otherwise Dark time. Well ok thats a bit dramatic, but they did have good ideas. The joining council, joining form, signup sheet for matchs, clan challenge form, all came from idea's that those guys had. While some didnt work out as well as we thought (joining council was one of those), all the ideas were helpful in really forming and shaping the clan and its infrastructure.

In here somewhere we changed the name from Havoks Little Killers, to Havoks Lethal Killers, and then finally to Havoks Lethal Knights, where it has remained to this day. I'll break it down for you. Havoks = mine as I started it, lol. Lethal refers to the skill which our members have and Knights refers to the honor and integrity with which we play.

Somewhere along the way I became pals with DSW Darkness. I had (still have) the greatest respect for him as not only a player of U1, but as a clan leader, and all around epitomy of good sportsmanship. The guy was just amazing skillwise, but that really paled in comparison to his leadership qualities. I have attempted to model our clan down the road the DSW began. We took our rules (now called guidelines) from Darkness (with permission of course!) and have really tried to be a clan that is skilled, but not focused on skill alone. So if your counting, thats twice I ran into someone that really helped me along in Unreal. First was Spaz, then Darkness. This is not something that was lost on me, and I have tried to pass it on to others whenever I get the chance.

If you check out our battles history, you'll see that in our early matchs we barely got into the double digits, but as time and skill progressed we improved, and managed to hold our own, and then actually started winning of all things. One of the biggest things about our clan is that we never played just our best like other clans. We played everyone who signed up. Admittedly they didnt always get the maps of their choice, but they played anyway w/o complaint. Sure we lost many matchs due to this, but you know what? Winning isn't, wasn't, and won't be everything. On the other hand some of the friendships we have begun here will transcend this game. And that is really what a clan is all about. Just being pals, fraggin, having a good time, and being respectful of others. Too often in gaming communities we forget their are real people behind these screen names. Real people with real feelings. I think that is one thing all {hLk} members have come to learn. Respect for your fellow clanmates goes well beyond just winning or losing.

Wow, who woulda thought we'd last this long?!?! We say we started June 2001 as that was the earliest email anyone could find when they were invited to join us (Krank found it I think). So it might have been earlier, but we take that as close to official as we can get. The funny thing is people have been saying U1 is dead for over 3 years, but yet we still play, practice every week, and have a match almost every month. To be honest we're more active now then we have ever been. We've seen many clans come and go. Some of them (LOD, LPB, DSW, BAMF, BAD, KDS, THC and more) we will certainly miss. Others (wont name em) we won't, lol. Through the trying times of the botters, imposters, hackers, and cheaters, we perservered. Thanks to great peeps like USAAR33, Tcp Wolf, A_Lesser_Talent, SA|BarendB, and others we were able to overcome many setbacks in the community. The botters were a real dark time for U1. There were many moments were I didnt feel it was worth the battle, but our members really kept me going and stayin positive.

We've had many great members over the years that parted ways but are still fondly thought of: Troa, Terrordream, James_D, Quiet Rage, Engineno09, Broadside, Pchyper, Lord_Vegeta, Lord-Destroyer, Excalibur, Knightsblood, Braveheart, Warhor, Brutus, KickAss, and a few others (sorry if I didnt remember!!!). We still see some of them using other names, in other clans, etc.. But they all know where their true home was, and we miss fraggin with each one of em.

Some of our members have been with us from the start, and I appreciate their patience, dedication, and willingness to change. This clan went from one disorganized, unskilled, walking disaster to one of the most honorable, skillful, clean playing clans around. There's a reason all these peeps look up to {hLk} and that reason is its members. The comraderie and dedication shown by you guys is awesome, and no one can ever take that away from {hLk}. So in closing my thanks to all {hLk} members: past, present, and future for making this clan what it is today. A example of how to play skillfully, with honor and integrity as the cornerstone of our foundation.