The Order of Wilbur

The Order of Wilbur
Clan
Name: The Order of Wilbur
In-game name:
Alts:
Status: Active
Date:
First joined:
Last seen:
Formed: July 29th, 2014
Abandoned:
Disbanded:
Location:
Coords:
Members: Confidential
Clans:
Bases: Stonetown, Quinsigamond, Monarchia, Struthio, Yittrium, City of the Divine Lord, Wilbur, Quabbin, Suidae Temple
Schematic: {{{schematic}}}

The Order of Wilbur is a very secretive cult on SimPvP; little is known about this organization and even less has been revealed to the public. Its current and former members are unknown and its motives and objectives are unknown as well, though much is up to speculation. The Order of Wilbur operates very loosely and sporadically, working only to serve the Holy Spirit of the Divine Lord Wilbur.

As of recently, the Order of Wilbur has also been well-documented for its intense rivalry with the newer religious organization the Church of Francis. This rivalry has culminated into a major war, The Holy Wilbur-Francis War, and several small-scale incidents.

Click this link for a humorous video regarding The Order of Wilbur: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4l3UNFf-XU

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  Pro-Wilburian graffiti located in Clinton, Massachusetts

Beliefs

While much of this secret society is shrouded in mystery, the main two core beliefs that are publicly known are as follows:

• To honor, worship and promote the life and teachings of Wilbur the Pig, who was so quickly taken from us.
• To connect with Wilbur's heavenly spirit through holy rituals and offerings.

History

July 29th, 2014

On July 29th, 2014 in the small community of Stonetown, player ostrich1414 was on a mission to receive every achievement that Minecraft offered. As the achievements began to get more difficult, one of them stood out from the rest: "When Pigs Fly". To get this achievement, a player must ride atop a pig using a saddle and fly him off of a cliff, potentially killing both entities in the process. Thus, ostrich1414 went to pursue this goal as he searched the town for a seemingly harmless, innocent pig to use for his own desires.

The pig that ostrich1414 eventually found was named Wilbur: a pig who would soon become iconic. After mounting Wilbur and climbing up to the top of Stonetown's infamous Tree Dome, ostrich1414 pushed Wilbur forward and the two plummeted to their deaths, both dying upon impact.

This death sparked server-wide controversy as players condemned ostrich1414 and his brutal actions which had resulted in Wilbur's murder. Almost immediately after the atrocity occurred, a memorial for Wilbur was constructed in both /world and in his hometown, Stonetown. A national mourning for his death was ordered and the date has since become that of legend.

Birth of a Cult

Not much is known about the creation and actions of the cult, but some say that just days after the event on July 29th, a secret organization was founded. The Order of Wilbur, as it is known today, was founded in Stonetown, the place of Wilbur's birth and death: the cult is also headquartered here. Some of the rituals performed by the Order of Wilbur have been described as "satanic" and "disturbing", and the few who have visited one of its sanctuaries have been psychologically scarred due to its intensity. In the Order of Wilbur, Wilbur's death is viewed as a massive tragedy, and Wilbur is portrayed and worshipped as a god. The sanctuaries that house these practices and rituals have also been described as appearing like the Nether. Currently, there are three sanctuaries: one in Struthio, one in Yittrium, and the main headquarters in Stonetown. A sanctuary had been partially completed in Monarchia, but the project was later abandoned. Quinsigamond also had an active sanctuary for almost two years, but it was ultimately griefed and destroyed in March 2019.

For many years, the Order of Wilbur would remain quiet, keeping to itself to continue its secretive, exclusive rituals and missions. Very few players would be allowed to visit the many sanctuaries that dotted SimPvP, and those who did were forced to take a vow of silence.

Reactions to Churches of 2019

In early July 2019, the newly-established Church Of Fluz announced its public opposition to the Order of Wilbur and the prophet Wilbur himself. Originally created by TheOnlySlash and SirTashingdon, the Church Of Fluz continued making blasphemous, defamatory remarks about the organization, thus forcing the Order of Wilbur to emerge from its secretive shadows and engage in a public rivalry with the Church.

The Church of Francis was another new religious organization formed in the summer of 2019 in August. Unlike the Church of Fluz, the Church of Francis established peaceful relations with the Order of Wilbur, and the two religions formed an alliance of mutual respect and worship. Lord1, the church's founder, has even gone as far as to describe the two religions as "linked". Unfortunately, by October 2019, this good relationship would be fractured as war impended.

The Holy Wilbur-Francis War

The Holy Wilbur-Francis War, which occurred between October 17th, 2019 - November 18th, 2019, was by far the most violent war in SimPvP history, with a series of bloody battles under its name. Ironically, it would be this war that would truly bring the Order of Wilbur into the limelight: prior to the war, the cult was rather secretive and isolationist, but this war catapulted the religion's interior organization and beliefs into the public eye.

The war began on October 17th, 2019 when ostrich1414 declared war on the Church of Francis, seeing their growing size and influence as a threat to the Order of Wilbur as the server's dominant religion. Thus, a series of violent and destructive battles would occur throughout the duration of the war, with notable battles occurring in several cities like Castle Snowfrog, Syracusai, and Monarchia. While the Church of Francis would see a fair amount of victories in battle, it was the Order of Wilbur that dominated the war, securing more victories and kills than its opponent.

Furthermore, the Order of Wilbur, due to its popularity, was able to secure and convert a much larger army of followers than the Church of Francis. The Wilburian army would be massive in size, with several battles dominating the Church of Francis in terms of player count. In fact, many soldiers who fought for the Order of Wilbur had previously been unaffiliated with the religion.

On November 17th, 2019, on what is known as "V-Day", the Order of Wilbur emerged victorious after the Church of Francis surrendered following their most recent loss at the Battle of Syracusai. A massive peace conference and victory celebration was held at Virunum, with ostrich1414 and Lord1, the Church of Francis leader, signing a peace treaty together. This would be the most significant event in the history of the Order of Wilbur since the death of Wilbur, and their victory would prove their dominance over Francis and as the server's main religion. This would also plunge the Order of Wilbur into the public eye, making it less-secretive than it once had been.

Post-War Incidents of 2020

After the Order of Wilbur's victory during the Holy Wilbur-Francis War, a temporary period of peaceful reconstruction occurred between the two religions. Lord1 was invited to Yittrium in December 2019, which was a major Wilburian city, and both Lord1 and ostrich1414 had plans of making a joint Wilburian-Francillian temple there together. However, this period of peace between Wilburians and Francillians was cut short: between January 15th, and 17th, 2020, The Sigil Conflict occurred, which primarily resulted due to the resurgence of the rivalry. After the Church of Francis's Sigil temple was vandalized with pro-Wilburian propaganda, Lord1 initiated an assault on the city, annexing it for the Church of Francis and instigating a two-day religious conflict. This culminated in ostrich1414 arriving at the city, destroying the temple in the name of Wilbur, and fighting the Francillian occupants. While the Sigil Conflict would ultimately end in peace, this incident reignited the rivalry between the two factions.

Another major incident occurred between April 15th and April 16th, this time in the Order of Wilbur's holy city, Stonetown. The Stonetown Incident, once again between the Church of Francis and the Order of Wilbur, occurred when Lord1 attempted to fully annex the town for the Church of Francis, upon the gifting of the town's deed by Porkington. This was taken as an act of hostility by members of the Order of Wilbur, who reacted with anger and reclaimed Stonetown, threatening the Francillians. A back-and-forth of re-annexations occurred between the two religions, until the possibility of yet another war neared on the horizon. To prevent another war, Lord1 and ostrich1414 met at the neutral base Verillium to establish peace and identify Stonetown as a neutral base due to its sacred nature.

Unfortunately, Stonetown's lifespan would be cut drastically short. On June 23rd, 2020, Lord1 and Wawuwiva both griefed Stonetown in retaliation for The Republic's grief of Two Words, of which ostrich1414 was both a member of. This became the most shocking moment in the Order of Wilbur's nearly six-year lifespan: the loss of its holiest, most sacred religious site, and its headquarters, completely devastated all Wilburians. While the ruins continue to remain a site of pilgrimage, the Order of Wilbur was hit hard by the loss.

The City of the Divine Lord, Wilbur

Between January 24th and May 6th, 2020, the Order of Wilbur saw the rise and progression of its first and largest city to date: the City of the Divine Lord, Wilbur, a.k.a. "Wilburia". The concept for a new Wilburian religious capital had been on ostrich1414's mind for years, but after the raid of Yittrium in January 5th, he was finally compelled to create Wilburia as a testament to his religious devotion. Ostrich1414 invited Zepheron, cheesy_chips22, and Porkington--three major devout Wilburians--to aid him in constructing the city.

Wilburia became known for the massive statue of Wilbur that served as the city's centerpiece, standing atop an ornate pedestal. Other major Wilburian landmarks included the religion's largest (and tallest) temple and a museum that house several significant items, ranging from Wilbur's original drops to Holy War artifacts. Wilburia was also an industrial powerhouse: it became one of the wealthiest, most powerful bases of its time, and propelled itself to the forefront of SimPvP politics. The Order of Wilbur's first major city was a success, and was growing rapidly.

Unfortunately, this success would be cut short when on May 6th, 2020, AntHand and egnaroky of the Caudices discovered and annexed Wilburia. This angered its members severely, who protested the annexation and completely abandoned the city, moving on to new things. While the city luckily avoided griefing, it was largely looted for its remaining resources, and was considered fully abandoned and nonoperational, marking the end of the Order of Wilbur's powerhouse megacity.

Destruction and Forgiveness

After the fall of Wilburia, the Order of Wilbur entered a small period of stagnation as many of its major members went on a hiatus or focused on other opportunities. By the summer of 2020, many Wilburians were involved in The Republic, a newly-formed group dedicated solely to opposing Lord1 and even the Church of Francis itself. Since many Wilburians still harbored a hatred for the Church of Francis, they found the Republic to be a suitable home, including ostrich1414 and Zepheron themselves.

Of course, this affiliation would have tragic results. After the Republic griefed Two Words, the Church of Francis' main base at the time, Lord1 decided to retaliate by targeting Stonetown--the most sacred base in the Order of Wilbur, as well as one of the longest-lasting bases on SimPvP. After six years of remaining upkept, the Church of Francis had effectively destroyed Stonetown on June 23rd, 2020, reducing the holiest city in the religion to ashes. This action became immediately controversial, and left many Wilburians furious.

Fortunately, the Republic-Church of Francis beef would soon wane into obscurity, and by the fall of 2020, the Order of Wilbur was back to its period of stagnation. Meanwhile, the Church of Francis had been growing much larger, even establishing an empire. In the eyes of many Wilburians, this left them to view the Church of Francis as increasingly aggressive and imperialistic, only further straining their longtime rivalry. The last major incident between the two religions would occur on September 15th, 2020, when ElectricChugg was harassed and killed by several Francillians. Enraged by their actions and aggressions, ostrich1414 finally decided to retaliate and called for an organized battle to be held, the first armed conflict between Wilburians and Francillians since the Holy Wilbur-Francis War almost a year prior. Thus ensued the Battle of Swampland, a major battle between Francillians Lord1, James8B, and xexc versus Wilburians ostrich1414, MoWobbler, and ElectricChugg. Fought entirely in a swamp biome near spawn, the battle would rage on for nearly an hour. The only death would be ElectricChugg at the hands of Lord1, and eventually ostrich1414 and MoWobbler were forced to flee. This would result in a Church of Francis victory.

However, as time went on, the two often-warring sides were beginning to open up to prospects of peace. On November 18th, 2020, the first major peace conference between the two would occur in the form of the one-year anniversary of the end of the Holy Wilbur-Francis War. Representatives of both the Order of Wilbur and the Church of Francis both met in Verillium to celebrate both the end of the war and to admit to wrongdoings of the past. For the first time ever, both parties apologized for war crimes, griefs, and petty actions, with the first signs of peace beginning to blossom between the two.

Suidae Temple

After many months of no real progress, the Order of Wilbur finally bounced back when it decided to construct its first temple in the greater spawn region. Located in the middle of an ocean, ostrich1414, MoWobbler and SkullerG all worked to create a massive temple known as Suidae Temple. This structure would be unique for its composition of nine "tubes" all arranged in a 3x3 grid pattern, raising upwards with domes capping them off. The interior of the temple would contain systematic bridges sweeping through each leveled tube, as well as many religious memorabilia and monuments to Wilbur.

Suidae Temple would mark the Order of Wilbur's first foray into influencing spawn, something the Church of Francis had been steadily doing throughout the latter half of 2020. This would also be the Order of Wilbur's first major construction project since the City of the Divine Lord, Wilbur had fallen.

Other Information

"The Life of Wilbur" was a book written by ostrich1414 in 2014, not long after Wilbur's death. It is a biographical account of Wilbur's life, leading up to the tragedy on July 29th, and it has since become sacred to the Order of Wilbur. Much like the Bible or the Qur'an, "The Life of Wilbur" is a very important and spiritual book for the cult. (NOTE: Ostrich1414 himself actually hates this book due to how poorly written it was, but he reluctantly acknowledges it as a historic religious text).

Little is known about the membership of the Order of Wilbur, and there is no known list of members; it is also unknown how one becomes involved with the cult, but an "initiation" seems to be in effect so as to choose its members wisely. It is known that membership is limited and highly regulated, and not just anybody can join. The only confirmed member of the Order of Wilbur is its founder, ostrich1414.