When you look to your membership to determine who is ready to rise through the rank of Equites, you have to begin thinking of future leaders within the Brotherhood. Who has not just an interest in themselves, but in their Clan? Who takes interest beyond the Clan, to the whole of the Brotherhood? Who has the impact upon others that is called for? Who can take the reins when no one else will? Who can set personal goals aside to ensure that others are taken care of? Well, those questions have a simple answer this time around.

That answer is Uji.

We know him as Donny and he currently sits as House Galeres’ Aedile, formerly the Battleteam Leader, or Captain, of Battleteam Nigthawk. I have to say, working with this man since his return has been a pleasure. He is full of ideas to not only promote tremendous activity within his single unit, but the Clan entirely. Since February of this year, Uji has consistently held a leadership position of some magnitude. That’s almost 5 months straight of leadership activity alone, ranging from BTS to AED, with at least 4 reports posted to the site! However, it’s not all reports. In promoting activity, one must also lead by example. Donny has no problem showing what he can do, having participated in no less than 30 competitions and (co)organized 6. Within the past year in commemoration to Donny’s high level of activity, he also managed to net himself 2 Steel Crosses and an Anteian Cross, for services rendered to the FIST staff and for his outstanding participation within the Dark Crusade and the Clan’s own Operation: Sojourn respectively.

Within the recent joint Clan Operation, Tides of Change, Donny showed that he still has what it takes to secure a win for the Clan. He participated in 5 of the events, coming in 4th for Gaming and 3rd for Week 1 Puzzle, as well as writing 1287 words of fiction and netting 100 Clusters of Fire just in the Operation alone! Speaking of word counts, Uji’s love for Run-ons has been proven by his total word count of 9,457 with his participation in the Great Jedi War, Arcona’s Operation: Resurgence, Galeres’ Operation: Revival and Nighthawk’s own ‘Introductions.’ These contributions helped in developing entertainment and solid storytelling for his fellow members. Aside from the Tides of Change event and piles of Run-On posts, Uji has also garnered a Crescent with Ruby Star, a Crescent with Amethyst Star, 5 Crescents with Sapphire Stars, 2 Crescents with Emerald Stars and a Crescent with Quartz Star for his overall competition activity within the last year and a half since his last promotion. When it comes to gaming and writing, he’s received an astounding 24 Clusters of Ice, 477 Clusters of Fire (not including those mentioned above), 1,302 Clusters of Earth and 9 Pendants of Blood. Speaking of Clusters, Uji recently placed 5th in the GMRG placements for the Dark Council guard! Furthermore, Uji has impacted Brotherhood-wide participation as well, shown within his 17 Seals of the Crusader and 11 Seals of Revelation. Even further, Uji has shown his determination in training up the future generations of the Brotherhood by mentoring a junior member to Knighthood, granting him a Scroll of the Master.

Moving on from the listed accomplishments, Donny has done more than just pin another medal to his chest or send a few more words to the competition organizers. Recently, he devised and hosted a ‘Character Workshop’ pilot, where a participant received input from selected advisors in areas such as Character Personality, Character Wiki, Character Graphics and more. I was proud to be the first guinea pig of this event and noted it to be a huge success. The level of input both he and the advisors provided was invaluable in fleshing out the character I use and I can only hope to see even more Arconans take the opportunity to participate. This can even be used as groundwork to forward to the Voice for Brotherhood-wide appeal!

At the end of the day, Uji is one of those members, those leaders, that does his best to contribute to the unit for the better and bring it with him as he rises through his own accomplishments. This has been a promotion long in the waiting, Donny, and I hope you wear your new rank with pride. Take it upon yourself to construct a saber unique to yourself and show the rest of the Brotherhood that you’re coming for them: Arcona can’t contain your drive for long.

Arcia Cortel Proconsul of Clan Arcona

Arcia Cortel, 2015-07-13 19:31:46 UTC

The number of people in the Brotherhood who have known Uji - better referenced as Donny - longer than I have make for a slim list. I have witnessed, in my time, his veritable sprint to Knighthood, the months and months of dedication to both Clan and Brotherhood that elevated him into the Equite ranks, and, now, all that he has done to rise, once more, to the title of Prelate. I have witnessed it all, and if I speak passionately of his worth, it is not because of familiarity but because of respect - respect for all that I know he has done and for all the care he has.

Donny is a bastion and a beacon, and I do not use these adjectives superfluously. His activity in competitions, management as a magistrate, and projects was constant and numerous from the moment he joined until life pulled him away, and even then it couldn't keep him long: he returned quickly, and resumed his same pattern of staunch participation, involvement and creativity, immediately joining one of our Battleteams. After that, it was but a brief respite before he volunteered himself once more for leadership, first for Battleteam Sergeant, then Battleteam leader, and, over four months later, now on to Aedile. Donny's exemplary service is highlighted by the seemingly endless stream of innovation and encouragement he champions. He is an ideas man, a learning man, as well as a teacher and commander. He proposes multiple new ideas for Battleteams, fictional direction, wiki improvement, and skill tutoring, such as seen in his contributions to House Galeres and his implementation of recent Character Workshops. The combination of humble willingness to do better in any way he can, ingenious developmental skills, and managerial background all serve to make Donny one of those people our members just flock around, and he is always there to help them all to the best that they can be.

We do not reward without cause here. To get a reaction, there must first be action. Donny, we can offer you only what gifts you have given us in turn: time, loyalty, and gratitude. Thank you for all you've done, thank you for continuing to contribute, and thank you for standing as one of our brethren. Whatever rank we call you by, whatever you earn, it means most that your other title has always been "brother." Congratulations.

Atyiru Caesura Entar Consul of Clan Arcona

Master Ruka Tenbriss Ya-ir, 2015-07-13 19:28:00 UTC

I have only really started to get to know Uji, or Donny as I know him, in the past few months, but in that short span he has already impressed. We bonded over Destiny (a gaming community where he is a powerhouse) before I came to Galeres and that led to conversations on character development, fiction ideas and even leadership. I was very lucky to inherit Donny when I was asked to take the wheel of Galeres, and after working with him these past weeks I can say there is no one I would rather have as my right hand.

Donny is a workhorse who consistently displays boundless initiative, it is rare that I have to ask him to do something he has not already thought of (and probably started) himself. He has a demonstrated commitment to learning from those around him so he can better serve his unit. Most importantly he truly cares for the members entrusted to him and has already invested time and no small amount of patience into helping our members be the best they can be. I know to an outsider it sounds like I’m spouting platitudes, and these ‘soft’ factors don’t necessarily jump out of a member’s dossier. But I would not speak these words if they were not the truth, much less commit them to paper and affix my name. I do so here proudly and without reservation.

Donny has demonstrated all the qualities of a top notch leader, he is the real deal. The fact he deserves advancement within the Equite ranks is for me, a no brainer. Donny, I am honored to have you by my side and look forward to seeing you continue to rise.

• Quaestor, House Galeres, Clan Arcona

Champion Rajhin Cindertail, 2015-07-13 19:29:54 UTC

I had the pleasure of working with Uji as part of the Fist Staff for about eight months. During that time he proactively set up monthly gaming events to provide members opportunities to participate in gaming competitions. In addition he was tasked to review and approve members requests for Clusters of Fire on a regular basis, his efforts assisted the Fist Staff in reducing the turnaround time for members to receive Clusters from several weeks to one to three days at most. Uji also assisted with the development of several Shadow Academy Gaming courses.

I am glad to see that Uji has continued to carry forward his motivation and desire to improve the experience of other members of our club, which has been clearly demonstrated in his Clan and House leaderships recommendations listed above. These selfless acts are a direct indicator that a member is ready to advance further into the Equite Ranks, and I am glad to add my recommendation to his promotion. Congratulations Prelate!

• Valhavoc, Fist of the Brotherhood

Valhavoc, 2015-07-13 19:30:31 UTC

Donny, Uji, S’nar, whatever he feels like calling himself at any given time, is one of the reasons I’m still going in the Brotherhood. Up until just prior to the GJW XI my experience with him was only in passing, just having missed him in various positions within the Clan. The months leading up to the War though, Uji and Kordath became partners in activity (and adventure/mishap). Uji was great at pushing me, and others, to do MORE for the War, for the Clan. For themselves, really, what was the point if you weren’t going to do things? He proved himself a leader without holding a position, one of the best things any member can do for his Clan mates.

Past the War, he pulled me into the Nighthawk team and pushed me even harder to stay active. He refused to see the people in his Team fall to the post-activity slump. Fun comps, running RO’s, Uji never thought about ‘let’s do nothing for a month’, out of the gate he did his best to keep the activity rolling. He’s been an inspiration, a friend, and a partner in more than a few good, bad, and weird adventures within the Brotherhood. Even if he made the foolish error of trusting me with taking over his Battleteam when moving up to Aedile, I still feel he deserves this promotion. Congrats, brother, you done good.

Captain of the Nighthawk

General Stres'tron'garmis, 2015-07-13 19:31:21 UTC