KLONDIKE, CP Army Headquarters – It has been over a week since Templars leader Echo retired from his position within the army. His low-key exit has come as a surprise to many, but our exclusive interview finds out the reason why.
Echo departed from his role of Templars leader nine days ago, on June 8th. His retirement was not announced anywhere on the Templars Discord or website and went unseen by most of the wider community. It wasn’t until yesterday on the CP Army HQ Discord that he revealed for the first time publicly that he had in fact stepped down from the leadership.
Echo joined the army in August 2019 for the lowest member rank at the time, before climbing the ranks and assuming the Grand Prior position in December of the same year. He was couped and banned, however, just a month later and did not return until July 2020. In October 2020, he was once again inducted into the leadership and lead for a total of 17 months. He states he is the longest-serving leader of the Templars thus far.
Echo leads the Templars to victory in April 2021 against the Magma Clan.
To gain more understanding of the circumstances surrounding his retirement, we spoke exclusively with the man himself.
Why did you decide to leave the leadership? And why was the departure so low-key?
There were a number of reasons but college coming up and other irl things are also coming up where I can’t really put the effort required to fill the shoes of a leader especially in an army like Templars that has a good amount of work to do all the time (Hence their success).
Honestly I don’t really know I originally planned a big event to officially end my career considering I’ve been in armies for many years and it really has been a big part of my youth. Xing basically treated it as a promotion and didn’t give it much attention. My guess is so the troops wouldn’t be demoralized or lose focus from our goals ahead. Which if it was the case I didn’t really mind. Still even in the but of humility I have I think after all my work and time in the community I would deserve atleast a post or recognition for it.
What are you most proud of as you reflect on your Templars career?
Definitely the battles I led against Magma Clan back in April 2021 and ACP which eventually led to their expected death. Along with my aid in helping Templars stay afloat in some of our hardest times at the end of 2020. I am quite proud that I was able to the be in its leadership when it was in shambles to when it rose to top 1.
Which people impacted you the most in the army?
Xing, Racecar4 and Popcorny Xing showed me the ropes on how to lead and taught me the harsh truth about many things. Honestly, Xing has even shaped how I am in real life too and got me out of my immature kid mentality.
Racecar4 was a person I could try and compare myself to and sometimes I’d try to one-up him (never could the man is too good) but in doing so I was also improving and bettering the army. Besides Race is my brother of another mother I love that man and his stupid choockins (he will understand). Popcorny the man always went straight to the critics when I first started leading. He would point out my flaws every single event until I’d fix them. And he most definitely helped me become the leader I was.
What is next for you? Do you have any future plans or ambitions within the community?
Although time doesn’t provide enough for me to be a leader I’d definitely love to stick around and help other armies grow by advising them. Potentially return and try and partake in a news organization as an administrator of some sort.
Although Echo has expressed his sadness about having a low-key exit from the Templars, he also appears to understand why a quieter departure may be beneficial to the army in the long term. With his statement regarding advising others in the future and potential interest in joining a news organisation, could we see him assuming a new role outside of the Templars in the future?