PACHUKA's "Goodbye Letter" ⌛ April 6th, 2002
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2026 9:05 pm
The Downwind — Graal’s Lost Southern Map
PACHUKA was Graal’s first administrator and the author of the original Graal Classic southern map, now retroactively known as “The Downwind.”
These levels contained several iconic and historical locations connected to the vintage Rainbow Temple era.
This region of the map was removed in version 1.2.7 (Summer 1999) after the game’s first expansion. The removal followed a dispute in which Stephane “Unixmad” Portha attempted to seize PACHUKA’s assets without possessing the intellectual property rights.
The conflict led to PACHUKA permanently leaving Graal Online as a major figure. He contacted legal counsel and ultimately removed the content from the game.
One of Graal’s Two “Forbidden Atlantises”
These levels became one of the two foremost lost worlds of Graal, the other being Glowtica.
Glowtica was a mysterious underwater region of Destiny that existed on the Graal Classic map during the consolidation of its overworld between 2000 and 2001. It nearly expanded to the height of the upper torso of the map yet was never made accessible to players.
Over time, Glowtica and The Downwind have become conceptually linked—two legendary worlds that represent the early origins of Graal while remaining largely inaccessible and experienced by very few players.
The Empty South
After PACHUKA’s departure, the southern region of the map remained effectively a black hole for over a year before eventually being replaced by Destiny, created by Antago.
In a landmark event on April 4th, 2025, the author of Destiny obtained the legal rights to The Downwind.
This marked the first time in 26 years since their removal that anyone other than PACHUKA had legal creative access to the levels.
PACHUKA’s 2002 Letter
PACHUKA commented publicly on his departure in 2002, three years after the sudden and shocking exit.
Contained within this letter are:
PACHUKA was Graal’s first administrator and the author of the original Graal Classic southern map, now retroactively known as “The Downwind.”
These levels contained several iconic and historical locations connected to the vintage Rainbow Temple era.
- downwind1.png (95.17 KiB) Viewed 90 times
The conflict led to PACHUKA permanently leaving Graal Online as a major figure. He contacted legal counsel and ultimately removed the content from the game.
One of Graal’s Two “Forbidden Atlantises”
These levels became one of the two foremost lost worlds of Graal, the other being Glowtica.
Glowtica was a mysterious underwater region of Destiny that existed on the Graal Classic map during the consolidation of its overworld between 2000 and 2001. It nearly expanded to the height of the upper torso of the map yet was never made accessible to players.
Over time, Glowtica and The Downwind have become conceptually linked—two legendary worlds that represent the early origins of Graal while remaining largely inaccessible and experienced by very few players.
The Empty South
After PACHUKA’s departure, the southern region of the map remained effectively a black hole for over a year before eventually being replaced by Destiny, created by Antago.
In a landmark event on April 4th, 2025, the author of Destiny obtained the legal rights to The Downwind.
This marked the first time in 26 years since their removal that anyone other than PACHUKA had legal creative access to the levels.
PACHUKA’s 2002 Letter
PACHUKA commented publicly on his departure in 2002, three years after the sudden and shocking exit.
Contained within this letter are:
- exaggerated accounts reflecting his infamous dramatic tone
- echoes of various internal disputes
- commentary on major world-altering events in Graalian history
- some of the only surviving records describing Graal’s earliest origins
- further insight into the legendary rivalry between Antago and PACHUKA — the “Gods of Graal”