NaAT

The NAAT is a thread in the High School Team. It also holds the distinction of the longest thread in the history of NSA. The NAAT, or Noble and Ancient Thread, is a long lasting thread, upwards of 70,000 posts, started in 2005. The thread followed the Era of the Spartans, and was supposedly started by Leolani Tucker. NAAT is a thread of a medieval theme, full of quests, knights, dragons, and other randomness characteristic of NSA.

(See the Book of Knowledge or NAAT for Pages for more information on NAAT)

taken from September 2017's #SpreadTheGolden Navigator Article

NaAT

Alrighty so I know you guys have been yeeeearning for me to write about this one since like, before I started this article xD So, without further adieu, ladies and gentlemen I would like to introduce you to The Noble and Ancient Thread makes a swooping gesture

Lets get started! So when I was an MSer, the only thing that I knew about the NAAT was that it was an uber long thread in the High School Interest Areas, where people have swords and dragons and fight weird creatures called porkypines. And from an outside perspective, that's exactly what it is. Heck, we're basically the LARPers of NSA, (and to those of you who are confused, those are the people who are way beyond nerddom).

But, being an insider, it's so much more than that. The NAAT is a culture, it's a community, and it has a rich and vibrant history. It's quite literally the longest thread on NSA, the current post being at number 81,623. The NAAT was founded sometime around 2007 and it kicked off from there. The NAAT has a world inside it's walls. It has castles, beasts, mountains, oceans, fields, dragons, porkypines, chameliollamasauruses, evil witches, evil scientists, mythical heirlooms and much, much more. There is always an adventure to be had and bad guys to slay (Just remember to stay within the BOP). I've been a member of the Order of Many Posts since 2013, and I regret nothing (except maybe all those hours that I should have been doing school and the consequential stress that caused >_> But we won't get into that).

Anyway, all that to say is that the NAAT is not just an adventure thread. In many ways (now this is going to sound weird) it's like a home to me and many other participants.

But! Don't just hear it all from me. Below is the history of the founding of the NAAT as told by one of the founders, Lady Leolani (Jamie) Tucker.

History of the Noble and Ancient Thread

As told by Lady Leolani

After the war, there was a season of restless peace. It seemed that the Spartans had all been sucked out of Cyberspace into the far places where there are no font colors, and the Rebels were content to leave things be. After all, what entity did they have, were they truly Rebels, if they had no one to rebel against? And so the IA fell into a restless silence, and it seemed that its days of activity were a thing of the past.

But, this was not to be! For the leader of the defeated Spartans, Johnmark Tucker, had a younger sister who had once heard grand stories of the IA and the lengthy thread. Newly active on NSA herself, it saddened her to see it lying silent and dead. Still, nothing would have become of it if not for a valiant ally, Lady Elyse. Through a shared interest in Sign Language, an enjoyment of fine literature, and the delight of imagination… a friendship formed. In those days, the NAAT had no official title, and the subject line was changed every few days as the topic of conversation changed. And it was this thread that facilitated the friendship of Lady Leolani and Lady Elyse. What wonderful times they had, and how the thread grew! In time, they formed the order of Knights… Knights of the Order of Many Posts, aka Kotoomps. And with that they established the name, Noble and Ancient Thread. For it was indeed ancient, dating back to the days of 2006.

There were several casual allies in those days… Miss Kohl, I believe, who stated that "Kotoomp" sounded like jumping in a mud puddle. William Schmidt, who would often swoop in at the appearance of Newbie Rebels that he might wage war against them with us. Evan Hoffmann, and a few others. Our first official Knighting ceremonies were for Rachel Elliott and Lace Zeuhlsdorff, followed by the equally worthy Cecelia Schmidt and Abbie Wright. There were several generations of Rebels, but we Kotoomps remained. We, our pages and our squires. After some time Lady Marissa was knighted, and Sir Timothy, and Lady Ashley, and others… and the thread grew even more and more ancient as I, Lady Leolani, have been sucked out of cyberspace even as were the Spartans before me, and as you who now read this will likewise someday be. I am proud to have worthy successors, and you too will one day tell legends to those who come after you. Farewell!

The NAAT, or Noble and Ancient Thread, is a long lasting thread, upwards of 70,000 posts, started in 2005. The thread followed the Era of the Spartans, and was supposedly started by Leolani Tucker. NAAT is a thread of a medieval theme, full of quests, knights, dragons, and other randomness characteristic of NSA. It is currently in Interest Areas.

NaAT (for Pages)

Ranks

Members of the thread can have any of three ranks:

• Page

• Squire

• Knight of the order of many posts

Page:

Page is the default rank. When you first post in the NAAT, you are considered a page. You are usually not recognized officially as a page until you have posted several times or have explicitly called yourself a page. As a page, you are generally expected to follow orders given to you, but still have a great degree of independancy.

Squire:

Squire is one step off from page. A squire is usually assigned to a knight, although when a shortage of knights arises he or she may remain independent. Squires are expected to obey orders given by any knight, and to especially serve the knight assigned to them (very rarely is this enforced, the KOTOOMP rarely give definitive orders or boss people around). This is also the rank at which warriors recieve their dragon egg.

Knight of the order of many posts (KOTOOMP)

This is the highest rank possible. You need to have spent a lot of time serving in the NAAT, and have an awful lot of merit, before you can be promoted to this level. Becoming a knight is a very important matter, and requires a long discussion between the current KOTOOMPs. At this rank, your dragon becomes rideable, and you may be assigned a squire. Your magic abilities can also reach their summit in this rank (not instantly, of course, but it now becomes possible).

Being Promoted

Although the knights would like to have us believe that a promotion comes from merit and time, it is often just random discretion of the knights. You still need merit and a significant amount of time (there is no written number, but the minimum seems to be six months) to be leveled up to squire. There is no time requirement to be leveled up to knight, but you need a LOT of merit to attain the honor.

Weapons and Combat

Combat

The golden rule of NAAT, and really any combat is the BOP, or balance of powers. The balance of powers essentially means that you cannot be overly powerful, or dictate your opponent's actions. for example:

INCORRECT: *Throws spear at you* slices spear in half with sword throws 10 spears back at you

Cannot be overly powerful

CORRECT: *Throws spear at you* ducks picks up spear and throws it back at you

Did not do an impossible move, and stayed within limits for retaliation.

The same rule goes for dictation. Although you might think "I never dictate other people's actions!" The definition for dictate is broader than it may seem.

INCORRECT: Throws spear at you Dodges spear shoots arrow at your head, and arrow hits

Cannot dictate that your arrow has hit and killed your opponent.

CORRECT: *Throws spear at you* dodges spear Shoots arrow at your head

You did not dictate the fate of the other player. He or she is free to say if the arrow hit or not.

"Now wait a minute," you might say. "According to these rules, a fight could go on forever with no victor!" Yes, this is true. There is that possibility, and in many fights that is how it ends up. In the NAAT, however, members are expected to know what's fair and what's not, and accurately determine whether something got them or not. In NAAT, nobody is ever killed, unless it is a bad guy. When a NAAT member has fairly decided that he or she was gotten fair and square, they may declare themselves injured and drop out of the fight for a while.

Weapons

The NAAT adventures are set in a medieval theme, and the weapons follow this theme. Although the sword is the standard choice, you are not limited to them. When you first join or contribute to NAAT, you get to pick a weapon. (There is no ceremony for it, you just have it.) Some special weapons, like magic swords, must be found or given to you, and you are not required to keep the weapon you choose forever. Here is a list of Basic weapons to choose from:

• Blades
• Short sword
• Long sword
• Rapier
• Scimitar
• Broad sword
• Cleaver
• Blunt and swingers
• War hammer
• Battle axe
• Haldberd
• Mace and chain
• Quarterstaff
• Ranged and Stabbers
• Bow
• Longbow
• Crossbow
• Sling
• Slingshot
• Throwing spear
• Javelin
• Shrunken
• Spear
• Haldberd
• Throwing knives

You are not expected to choose from this list, it is just displayed as a suggestion for those who cannot decide u_u

(P.S. CHOOSE DAT BATTLEAXE u_u)

Dragons

Dragons are noble creatures. Each page is given a dragon egg on his promotion to squire. When you recieve an egg, you are expected to name it. It can take several days, weeks, and sometimes months for your dragon egg to hatch, and even then it is not fully grown. Dragons are usually fully grown by the time a member is knighted, and are then rideable.

Dragons are not just pets. After they hatch, they can understand English, and can communicate to people, usually as a voice in their head. Words in italics represent a dragon putting words into your mind. Every dragon is unique, and the dragon eggs are given so the dragon's personality suits the squire's, and vice versa.

For a full explanation on dragons, email Marissa Mathews, or the current dragon keeper. If you're reading this in the far unforseeable future, then Marissa Mathews is likely gone. Ask the oldest knight there is for more information. If that's you, then you're sunk u_u (NAAT no longer has a dragon keeper because of its Dead thread status)

(For more information on dragons, read the book Eragon. The NAAT's dragon system is largely based upon this book. [The book is now lost to NSA history])

See NaAT (Dragons)

Evil

You never know when it could happen. But at some point, eviiiil will rise from the land (pronounced Eeeeeeeeeeevil) and must be stopped by the noble Knights of the NAAT. Eviiiiil arises when a member of NAAT (usually a senior) takes up two roles: His or her usual role, as a loyal follower of the KOTOOMPs, and the role of an Evil figure, often a wizard or a warlord with an army. When this occurs, the members of NAAT usually must go on a long, bloody campaign to rid the land of Eviiiiiil. You sort of pick it up as you go, just read the combat section and live and learn the rest. NOTE: Do not attempt to be an eviiil figure until you are at least an experienced squire. This is not an official NAAT rule, but a very good piece of advice. Leave it to the experienced ones, until you are an experienced one. u_u

Magic

When you first join NAAT, you generally have no magic experience, and cannot use magic. This guide does not really go into depth with magic. To learn magic, you need to express an interest in learning it, and usually a knight or Squire will teach you it. The highest possible strength of your magic is determined by rank. Knights can wield much stronger magic than pages can.

Rivalry

NAAT is usually not the only thread in Interest Areas. Many other threads have risen and attempted to outdo NAAT, but these have all failed. Nevertheless, there is almost always another rival thread. It is not an official NAAT rule, but an important custom of NAAT's is not to post on these threads. If a thread is not posted on for long enough, it eventually disappears. This is known as defeating the thread. Posting on the thread makes it less likely to disappear, so avoid doing it if possible! Also, it is important to remember that we of the NAAT are gracious to our enemies. While we are rivaling them, and even when we defeat them, gloating or jeering is intolerable. Nobility is a custom of the NAAT that is taken seriously, and it goes toward the treatment of rivals as well! (Important Note: Thread Loyalty to NAAT is NOT required. if you decide you want to post in other threads, or even switch over to and join other threads, please feel free to do so.)

(A quick side note: NaAT never lost a rivalry, but yet it lost its biggest role play status to the role play chat FFAE, and soon lost its war chat status to the Anti Communists, this marked the end of Role play and war being in the same place)

NAAT Terms:

NAAT- Noble And Ancient Thread

KOTOOMP - Knights Of The Order Of Many Posts (plural KOTOOMPs)

Guardians - A tribe of warriors friendly to the KOTOOMP since the time before time.. afraid of dragons, though...

Kezhan - An old, wise, orange tinted dragon belonging to Marissa Mathews.

Zer0 - The root of all Evil in Cyberspace. Has tried to posess a NAAT member, and has hidden the diamonds of NSA. (Zer0 disappeared when NSA switched from FC to Teams, as did the diamonds)

General Mittenpaws- The fearsomely adorable leader of an army of kittens. He and his army disappeared, and no one knows where they now are...

Feledrathin - An evil wizard from times past, who took over the castle with spiborgs. only with the help of the guardians and an enchanted sword was she defeated.

Spiborg - A spider enhanced with robotics. Summoned by the evil wizard Feledrathin.

CRT - Confederate Revolutionary Thread (An old rival thrad that reached 6,800 posts)

Diamonds of NSA - The most powerful objects in cyberspace. Only they have the power to defeat Zer0. (They were all turned to dust after the communist revolution)

Random Facts:

~NAAT was founded in 2006.

~Leolani Tucker was the first Knight of NAAT.

~Marissa Mathews, the current dragon keeper, is also a historian of ancient history. u_u

~The last Knight of NAAT was Samantha Aquino, who was knighted in 2018 by Cody Johnson. Only one person addend, Samuel Hewitt.

~DON'T SHOOT DE OWLS!!!

NaAT is ranked number three in messages sent with 81 thousand. Its current chat/thread activity ranking is 'Dead'.

NaAT (Dragons)

Now then, I've already discussed with y'all the conflicts between the threads in the High School Interest Areas, but now it's time to go a little deeper into the nature of one of the legendary creatures of NSA: the NAAT Dragons.

How many dragons are there?

It is difficult to count exactly how many dragons there have been over the years, however it is true that there has been one dragon per Squire since the founding of the Order of Many Posts. The only exception to this rule was Jeriel Jammullamudy who procured another dragon by unsanctioned means and therefore doomed his second dragon to an evil nature. You see, it's never healthy for a dragon to have to share a human with another dragon. The mental energy that it takes is exhausting for all parties involved and they are forced to use rather inappropriate as well as mentally detrimental means to stop this drain of energy, resulting in one evil dragon, one good dragon, and a human who must flip back and forth. All that to say: it's not worth it, so the NAAT sticks with one dragon each.

An incomplete list of the dragons and their Knights goes as such:

Rider	Dragon
Ashley Spence	Kastrin (M)
Bree McLaughlin	Quiplen (F)
Joel Raines	Vlagr (M)
Josiah Bout (Squire)	Dasche (M)
Luke Brungardt	Viriliter (F)
Marissa Mathews	Kezhan (M)
Morgan Raines	Netjeri (F)
Spencer Parkhurst	Skarler (F)
Tim Jones*	Carelia (F)
Zach Crawford	Eridor (M)
Ariel Johnson	Silvius (M)
Simeon Spiess	Earl Kaal'Rhyn (M)
Kassia Fisher	Irdenne (F)
Paul Pepper	Azurite (F)
Amilia Sedin Chan	Akela (F)
Jeriel Jammullamudy	Valos (F) Rhelasvog (M)
Nastassia Naskov	Azeeza (F)

How are they like... born?

Great question! The most basic answer is: they're not. They come in eggs. However, that's not a great answer either because that leads one to believe that dragons have parents, which is false as well. The dragons are actually chemically engineered in the Egg Room in the NAAT Castle and don't have any abilities in and of themselves to procreate. This Egg Room is super secret - only the Knights know about it because of the dangers talked about above for when people have more than one dragon. The other nice thing about the whole "engineered" thing is that they can never go extinct! Well, unless we lose that one piece of paper >_> Thaaaat would be awkwardddd.

Okay, so dragons are cool, I get that, but what do they actually do?

Dragons do lots of things! They're super useful in battles (obviously), but they're also really useful for recon missions or for just having a bit of fun. The main characteristics of a dragon are below:

They have super hard scales that change with their squire/knight's font color.

They breathe fire, which is crazy scary if you ask me.

They give their knight the ability to have dragon-like characteristics for battle.

They have telepathic abilities and can not only speak to you with their mind, but can speak to other dragons from anywhere to anywhere with their minds, making them the world's greatest walkie talkies.

They fly. I mean, obviously, but have you ever stopped to think about the power that has to go into making a three-ton mass of scale and muscle FLY? These creatures are stupid strong.

They do tricks U_U Let's be honest here though, they mostly do tricks /with/ their Knight, not /for/ their Knight. I can't even begin to number the amount of times Netjeri has flipped me on her back without a warning >_>

They each have a favorite food - their biggest weakness. For some of them, it's fried chicken. Some of them favor pecan pie. Heck, some of them might even like eggnog or waffles!

So, obviously this isn't all that dragons can do. They're great for many many things, but most of all, they're the most loyal creatures you'll ever encounter and your dragon will be the best friend you could ever dream of. ^_^

NaAT (Villains)

Feledrathin

Ah, dear Fele. She was one of the best villians we ever had, if I do say so myself. Just the right amount of eeevil and mischievous, with a dash of sickly sweet manners. She actually lured me and my brother into her eeevil lair by using an Indian dish called butter chicken and naan @_@ It was delish, but laced with a sleeping drug. We actually don't know much about Feledrathin's background except for the fact that her main goal in life was to get her hands on the Sword of Nobility, but she couldn't do that because only someone of noble heart could pull it out of the sarcophagus that it was encased in. Lucky for me and my innocent Page-ness, I was able to easily remove the sword and forever become Feledrathin's enemy (well I guess that wasn't terribly lucky now that I think about it). After a grand battle we all defeated Feledrathin and her minion baconypines. Feledrathin took over some of our minds and used her evil black smokey powers to make apparitions that we had to fight. Then I'm pretty sure that she got all big and started glowing green and that's when all the dragons began to blow fire on her and all the knights used their dragon powers and then I (using the Sword of Nobility) killed her with one fell swoop. So yeah. That's good old Fele. I personally believe that she's still alive somewhere, probably pulling a Voldemort on us or something, but the world may never know U_U For now though, we shall live in peaceful expectancy.

Illathor

Now this guy. This guy is one of my favorites. We discovered Illathor on the quest to preserve the life of an ancient dragon and rescue a NSA Diamond Diadem from being abused. Illathor is an eviiiil scientist (notice the other variation of evil) who likes to experiment on baconypines, putting sweaters and the like on them while calling them all his children. We never really did figure out what kind of stunts he was pulling with the baconypines, but he did end up capturing Paul and Kassi and used some perverted mind games to study the Knight's ability to morph parts of their body into dragon features for protection. Anyway, in the end Illathor didn't get the Diadem even though we promised it to him because we deemed it too dangerous to be left out of the Castle treasury. Illathor is still a frenemy of the KOTOOMPs though so that's good! He's probably off in his cave now experimenting on some baconypines and plotting how to get into the treasury, but, like Feledrathin, we don't really worry about it and he sends us care packages of marshmallow bacon every once in a while. One time the basket even had a large number nine on the side of it. Strange =P

This article was written by Lady Morgan Raines, KOTOOMP and SC Pres 2017-18.