The fourth level of Equite is an honor and prestige that very few members of the Dark Brotherhood ever achieve. It is even more rare to see a member accomplish this achievement in just a few years. To become an EQ4 a member must display not only activity, but the foresight to shape and understand ways to make the Dark Brotherhood a better place.
I can easily say that my Praetor, Raken, has achieved mastery of improving the Dark Brotherhood. Raken is the innovator and originator of the best Dark Brotherhood fiction in years. His work on the Rite of Supremacy and Great Jedi Wars are unparalleled in DB history. His competitions as T:F have been heralded by members who have previously ridiculed the best of our competitions.
Raken is one of the Dark Brotherhood's brightest Stars and this promotion is merely a stepping stone as he continues to move forward in our organization. Congrats my friend.
GM Sarin
One only needs to read the first few paragraphs of the Brotherhood's
latest plotlines to know that Raken deserves this promotion. His
writing is brilliant and his take on the story arch of the Brotherhood
is even more so. Raken's writing is taking this club to a new level
fictionally.
Outside of his work on the storyline of the club, Raken has been a
constant intrument for ingenuity and innovation in the DB. His term as
Fiction Tribune has been marked by exqusite competitions that push the
boundaries of what had become an all--to unimaginitive post. Raken is
constantly giving his input on changes that go on in the DB and adding
his two cents to everything.
As far as my role goes, Raken has been decidely helpful in testing and
improving coding projects. He gave very helpful feedback on the
Character Sheet system and has always been one of the first to
diligently respond to my requests for help or advice. I appreciate his
efforts.
He's a constant source for light-hearted humor as well. Though my
time on IRC is limited, I often open the channels just to see what
Raken has said. His outlook on the DB keeps things in perspective; an
extraordinary trait among extraordinary talents.
Thank you, Raken, for all that you do.
If I were asked to create a list of the top five most productive Brotherhood members in my memory, I would place Raken on it without a second thought. There are simply few members who have the drive to pick up project after project and continue to make good on all of them - especially when you consider the scope of many of those projects...a GJW plotline, a new discipline system, etc. And as fiction tribune, Raken has brought forward fresh and interesting topics that have left me wishing I had some free time in which to write.While some people may decry the fact that he is becoming a Warlord after just two years, I challenge any of them to name a member who has done more work for the Brotherhood as a whole in such a short period of time - I know that I do not measure up to his example myself. Beyond all this, Raken brings a relaxed personality and common sense to work with him, which elevates the quality of his work while keeping him separated from the "drama" that inevitably tries to waste everyones time. All of this Raken does with one simple title - Praetor. He is a living lesson in humility, he donates his time freely wanting only a little entertainment in return - no demands for positions, power, or awards are ever heard from him. For his alone I would say promote him, for everything he's done I'd say there is no other possible course of action. Congratulations my friend, on becoming a Sith Warlord. -Justicar Kir Katarn
I've worked with and I would think became friends, or what passes for friends in an online community, with Raken. One thing many people won't really see is his work ethic. The entire fictional reality of the DB has fallen on his shoulders, and he's taken it and run with it. He's put together perhaps the most realistic military force in the DB along with all of the background needed for them. He continues to put out fictional updates that is on par with the best of professional SW fiction out there, and moving the "DB story" along at a crisp pace. His work as T:F has seen competitions that are actually fun to do. It's been a long time since I've seen such a consistent output of "I want to do this" fiction topics. This is all on top of many of the other work he's done that hasn've even come out to light yet. The club is very lucky to have someone like Raken who is both highly skilled and wants only to help the club grow. Congrats, buddy!
Raken is one of those people that few people really recognize. His work is largely under the radar, but absolutely critical for our operation here. The stuff that has already been released is just a taste of what he's already done, and what he is working on. Everyone saw the intense amount of work he did for the last GJW. Over 90 pages of raw and wicked fiction that actually gave us a running plot and developed our club in ways that previous wars couldn't. It is, I believe, one of the most significant factors that made the war stand out among the others. His work as an author is more descriptive, more powerful, and just flat out better than almost all of the commercial authors working the Lucas franchise.
And this is a trend he has continued. With the 'fictional updates' that Raken has developed to help bridge the gap and progress the storyline between wars, we are starting to see the seeds that will grow into major events. Again, this has helped the club grow in ways that just a couple years ago seemed beyond our capacity. And this is to say nothing about his work on projects we're working on. Raken has penned scads of pages to help explain the function and history of our order reboot, which isn't terribly far from launch. The number of projects that Raken has had influence over is impressive, considering as short of a time he's sent here.
There are some people in this club that prefer to create rather than consume. Raken has created such an impressive body of work that it makes many of us who prefer to create enjoy it. I know I'm not the only one who looks forward to the next thing he writes, with baited breath. Raken has more than earned his stripes in my mind, and I am humbled to be able to reccomend him for elevation.
~Muz Sadow, Deputy Grand Master
Mandalorian Declan Roark, 2008-08-03 15:02:13 UTC