Atra has been a one-man army since returning to the Brotherhood. Since his last elevation to Equite 3 in September of 2015, he has been a full-time leader and active member for the Brotherhood in multiple capacities. He served as Magistrate to the Voice for 2 months before moving up to Praetor, where he would spend the next 11 months before being appointed Combat Master—a role he has now served for the past month. He also served the entirety of his time as an ACC Judge for 12 months. This also included a stint as a Quaestor for House Shar Dakhan in CNS for 4 months. This demonstrates a continued dedication to leadership in the Brotherhood over the course of his entire 13 months as an Equite 3. This is why I believe he has more than proved himself worthy of elevation to the last and final Equite rank.

Each of these leadership roles has brought with it recognition in the form of merit awards and medals. His most recent Grand Cross covered his work as an ACC Judge and Praetor to the Voice. His Sapphire Blade highlighted the work and loyalty he gave to Clan Naga Sadow and covered his leadership and activity therein. His most recent Anteian Cross was earned for stellar activity as a regular member, and covered his gaming, writing, and competition participation numbers over that time period. He earned another Anteian Cross from the Herald for completing 115 images for the new (and deployed) trophy system for the Brotherhood.

While I believe this steady string of merits paints a strong picture for the kind of leader Atra is, I wanted to talk a bit more about the kind of work that he does on a daily basis that might get overlooked.

Atra is one of the most vocal communicators in the club. He is a bright and beaming presence on Telegram—our main form of communication—and engages with members on a daily basis to discuss and talk about things relevant to his positions and work as part of the ACC and Voice Staff. This includes explaining character sheet mechanics, finding errors and typos and fixing them, as well as running creative competitions for members and then providing useful feedback with the intent of bettering the writers of our club. Beyond this, he has proof-read almost every article or documentation that has gone into circulation for the Voice and ACC Staff, including the Lightsaber Form, Martial Art Form, and Approval/Policy articles that have been updated and published. He authored the latest Discipline Focus article on “Ace”’s, and also was the main proofer on my first DB-Plot fiction update: No Return.

Over the course of these 13 months, Atra has judged almost twice as many battles as the next closest ACC judge with 40 matches graded total. At roughly 45 minutes a match, that translates to roughly 30 hours of time dedicated to giving direct feedback to writers in the Brotherhood.. In that same capacity as a Judge he has qualified 24 members to participate in the ACC. He has also approved ~32% of the approved character sheets (375), second only to the automated updates processed by dbb0t.

When I was appointed Voice, Atra was the no-brainer choice to replace me as Combat Master. Beyond his on-paper metrics, he simply shows up every single day and does everything in his power to help members get acclimated with the Fiction System of the DB and especially with the ACC. His work ethic is unmatched from what I’ve seen in my years in the DB, and I think he has truly gone above and beyond what we look for in an Equite 4.

Congratulations, Atra. Keep up the amazing work, and I look forward to throwing more shinies at you as we keep working together and making things happen.

Voice of the Brotherhood

Exarch Marick Tyris Arconae, 2016-11-03 20:38:47 UTC

Atra, for over a year while I was Voice of the Brotherhood, assisted me heavily as the Praetor in the office. This included a more project level policy development and content creation role, to the more rubber hitting the road discussions with individual members so that nothing stood between them and their unique character ideas. Since his last promotion I have been part of awarding him a Sapphire Blade, a Grand Cross, and now to wrap that up all, will be a promotion to Equite 4. He essentially served as a second Voice in many ways the past year as my own time was consumed elsewhere, and it would be hard to imagine that even my own accomplishments without mentioning specific ongoing soon to be things would be what they are without his support.

To touch on some specifics, he helped to train Aiden Lee and Kordath as Magistrates when they joined the staff, helping them to understand the specific Character Sheet approval process and best help members, developed the new NPC CS guidelines with me to help Clans to request and have NPC character sheets for their plots including getting Muun added for an Arcona competition series, ran a series of Iconic CS competitions to give members an opportunity to think about iconic Star Wars characters in the DJB world, helped as primary moderator and managed the new Fiction activity presence on Telegram, significant input and help in developing a new revision of the Cluster of Ice awarding policy that included increases to ACC cluster of ice awarding and cleaned up language on what received Voice staff approval, co-organized and graded at three different INQ society plot level fictions across the entire Brotherhood that helped members to integrate their characters into the ongoing plot that also resulted in many different discussions. In addition to many instances of clarification or answer to help members and leaders make decisions with regards to Voice office activities.

Overall, the list of accomplishments, paired with his attitude and initiative have left quite a positive impact on the Dark Jedi Brotherhood over the past year. For all these reasons, I agree with and put my support behind this recommendation for Atra’s promotion to the Equite 4 rank. Congratulations Atra.

Former Voice
Regent of the Brotherhood

Master Aramis Taelyan, 2016-11-03 20:35:04 UTC

I am proud to stand for Atra Ventus today as he receives his elevation to Equite IV in the Brotherhood. This rank is a testament to one’s steadfast service to the Brotherhood and loyalty to the members that it is comprised of. And I have witnessed both of these qualities - and so many more - over the past fifteen months.

Since his last elevation, he has participated in 94 competitions, (co)organized 31 competitions, submitted 21 PvP Matches, logged 15 PvE Activities, Finished 5 ACC Battles, penned 10 Fiction Activities (28068 words!), posted four times in a run-on (3039 words!), passed 38 Shadow Academy courses, and earned 7 Dark Side Degrees. In that same time, he has collected a Sapphire Blade (for his leadership skills and mentorship of others), a Grand Cross (exceptional efforts in leadership of the ACC), 2 Anteian Crosses (general activity and exceptional effort on the Trophy System) and a Dark Cross (for bringing to life the NFU Disciplines), 23 Crescents (4 Cr-D, 4 Cr-R, 14 Cr-A, 1 Cr-S), 6 Pendants of Blood, 598 Clusters of Fire, 70 Clusters of Ice, 8 Clusters of Graphite, 6 Scrolls of Foundation, 2 Scrolls of the Master, and 1 Legion of the Scholar. In addition, he has held a myriad of leadership positions in service to the members of the Brotherhood. Often, holding multiple positions/duties at the same time. Showing a tremendous amount of fortitude (and courage) to wear multiple hats and juggle responsibilities that few could do.

What stands out most to me, though, is his constant dedication to perfecting the member experience. As his Quaestor, and an observer of his general conversations/interaction with my members, I see someone destined to be an Elder in this club. When a concern is addressed, Atra slows down everything to work with that individual. He not only listens, but asks complex questions to ensure he understands what they need, what they are aiming for from the conversation, then provides insight/advice/expertise to the best of his ability to not only address that member’s original question… but to make it an extraordinary solution that endears the member further to our club, our venues, and future participation. I have seen him spend hours on a Character Sheet with one member to make sure it not only meets the requirements for approval, but bring to life how a member sees their character in their heads. He does this, constantly, for no reward, no gratification, no thanks. That selflessness is why he deserves to rise to the pinnacle of the Equite ranks and begin his journey towards Elder.

Braecen Kaeth
Safeguarder of Sheep

Braecen Kaeth, 2016-11-03 20:35:55 UTC

Though a relatively-speaking new addition to Arcona, as far as rosters are concerned, there is nothing about this man that is new to anyone who knows him, let alone anyone who's been a member of the Brotherhood and physically breathing for the last year or more. Atra is a well-known entity, and his reputation is a well-earned one: hard working, skilled, diligent, reliable, intelligent, diplomatic, effective, authoritative, angsty, the list goes on. If Atra is present, something is happening, and it's something important. He is not a man to give of his time or invest himself lightly. The work he does, he must believe in. And he has shown consistently, time and again, that he believes in this Brotherhood, in its development, strength, and quality. His tireless work for the Voice offices reflects no less, aside from his previous experiences in leadership, his Praetorships, his current stance as Combat Master, and his fast stardom as a participating member of the Shadow Clan.

This is what anyone who meets this man, who hears his name, who has the grace and luck to come into his sights and the further honor of being in his trust, must know: Atra Ventus is a man who, when he does decide to give, gives everything. Days, nights, blood, sweat, and tears, tireless arguments and sleepless strings of writing, coding, crafting, performing, discussing, all of it, he gives. He gives and gives. And while he himself might not see himself in so generous a light, preferring fame more for competence and abrasiveness, it nonetheless remains well true. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone more worth having by your side when there's work to be done or a challenge to be faced, and equally harried to find a more loyal comrade. Such is where I'll end this, knowing said particular paragon's preference for brevity (ha). So, for all that, for all you've brought to our Brethren and to your home here in the Clan, Atra, I'm humbled to be able to welcome you to the ranks of Equite IV. Take your crown, my dear Emoking. Today, it's yours.

Atyiru Caesura Entar
Consul of Clan Arcona

Master Ruka Tenbriss Ya-ir, 2016-11-03 20:37:19 UTC