Mako was last recognized with a Sapphire Blade on August 21, at the tail end of his service as Quaestor and just after orchestrating a successful inter-House feud. For many people, especially after a brutally stressful summer, that would be a chance to slide into a temporary or even permanent retirement. Fortunately, Mako is not most people. In just over two months he has participated in 31 competitions as one of the founding members of the new Garza's Pathfinders battleteam. He has also organized or co-organized 18 competitions, many of them from the final stretch of his service as Quaestor and M:Fist.

Mako is known throughout the Brotherhood as a top-tier gamer; however, he has one of the broadest skillsets of any member I know. Since his last recognition he has not only earned 12 Clusters of Fire and 5 Clusters of Earth, he has also taken home 2 Clusters of Ice and 6 Clusters of Graphite. Additionally, he has passed 4 SA exams and earned himself 1 Dark Maven degree. His efforts across all kinds of competitions have earned him 3 Crescents with Amethyst Stars, 4 Crescents with Emerald Stars, and 1 Crescent with Topaz Star.

Mako is consistently active on e-mail and especially Telegram, where he has become the heart of his battleteam. Although he stepped down from his formal leadership position, Mako continues to offer constant encouragement to his fellow BTMs as well as to House leadership. He's an invaluable promoter of competitions and source of feedback for the House Summit. Mako is an example of all of the best qualities of an Odanite, and it is my pleasure to recommend him for a Steel Cross.

Alethia Archenksova,
Quaestor, Satele Shan

Headmistress Alethia Archenksova, 2016-11-02 21:36:08 UTC