Supposedly, Augustus bragged that he had found Rome a city of brick, and left it a city of marble. And that’s more or less where Zen is heading with regards to the Department of Writing. That department was in rough shape when he took it over. Most courses dated back years, over a decade in at least a few cases, and they had received minimal updates. Ciara and Erinyes had big plans for the department but real life removed them from the SA before they get could get very far along. Zen took on responsibility for the project, developed his own take on that plan, revised it again for the new HM, and has kept pace with my evolving megalomania vision for the SA.

In addition to the two courses recognized by his last Sapphire Blade, Zen was the sole author on Character Development. He developed an outline and wrote the 2041-word course notes and the exam with minimal assistance from me. On the contrary, Zen had to navigate our differing ideas and expectations for a Character Development course and revise his initial draft accordingly. The resulting course provides general principles and actionable advice that apply to almost every solo fiction, co-op fiction, run-on, or ACC match that a member would want to write. The quality of the course notes and the exercise-drive exam both reflect Zen’s professional experience as an educator and his personal experience with the subject matter and his extensive research through books, articles, and videos written by professional authors and screenwriters.

I like to think that every course we release is polished and professional, but sometimes it takes a while to get there from the first draft. Zen’s drafts, however, are always within a few Markdown tags of publishable, significantly reducing my workload as HM and allowing me to focus my energy on SA-level innovations. A mixed blessing, perhaps, as he would be getting an award for two new courses if not for one of Arch’s bright ideas bogging down the process. I suppose I’ll have to save that for my fourth SB rec for him.

Alethia Archenksova
Headmistress

Headmistress Alethia Archenksova, 2023-10-20 13:46:34 UTC

Jenni is like a force of nature. Sure, you might be able to stem the tide and maybe put some space between you and her (like by using two spaces after each sentence as I am here), but inevitably she will come around and batter down your door to play Halo Infinite or start an RP. And now that she's truly gotten her feet wet with a Great Jedi War under her belt, she's starting to step up for more and more within Arcona and the Brotherhood as a whole. Even before XP, these were the marks of folks that deserved the sacramental awards, of which the Sapphire Blade was the first step.

So to our wonderful funderful Sagi, I hope that you enjoy this new shiny stabbin' implement and put it to good use. Just like I put all these post-sentence spaces to good use. Enjoy your Sapphire Blade!

Qyreia Arronen
Consul, Clan Arcona

Qyreia Arronen, 2023-10-20 02:42:49 UTC

I swear I could do this nearly once a month. Zoron remains as active as ever with 44 competitions participated in since his last award. This includes being the second-highest-scoring member of Clan Vizsla in the latest Vendetta. He has doubled up on everyone else the Clan Credits and honestly at this point I am running out of different ways to sing his praises. Congrats yet again Zoron on your Stabby!

Korvyn, 2023-10-19 23:16:41 UTC

Scientist Titius Osseus has reached the required 5125 Medal XP to earn their first Sapphire Blade.

Titius has really done a bang up job. He exploded onto the scene and has been the bomb ever since. I know that we can lob him into any situation and he’ll never give a fragmented job.

He’s a bomb. It’s a bomb pun. Cause everything explodes.

Moving on, Titius has been a force to be reckoned with ever since he joined. He’s always looking for ways to engage, especially finding his niche in the ACC and RPing. His studious actions in the SA put me to shame. Plus, he’s holding Ellac to task as I prepare to depart and I need to know someone is gonna get the rest of those limbs.

I’m very proud of all his accomplished and his continued growth in the clan!

Master Kamjin "Maverick" Lap'lamiz, 2023-10-18 02:32:47 UTC

Cimozjen Kurios, better known as Bentre or Benny, joined the Fist office in my first wave of staff hires as a new Fist. In the year and some change since he has been an advisor and force of stability in the staff. Every staff discussion and every policy initiative during this period benefitted from Benny’s thoughtful and member-centric perspective and input. The Fist staff often has to make tough calls on everything from cluster values, platform adoption, in-game guild policies, submission requirements and even something as fundamental as the Rites of Combat. All of these calls I could not have made without Benny’s experience as a club leader and a leader within the gaming community. Every platform adoption, proposal and policy change done by the office during this period benefitted from Benny's input and review. Quite simply, his presence on staff made me a better Fist and made the staff more effective overall. While his primary role as Praetor was helping to oversee the smooth operation of the office he personally reviewed 135 gaming submissions providing timely and accurate support to 73 unique members.

Please accept this well-deserved token of appreciation on behalf of the Fist staff and the gaming community as a whole.

Master Turel Sorenn, 2023-10-07 21:31:55 UTC

Cell, congratulations on a lifetime of XP and earning this Sapphire Blade!

You're another fantastic example that members can participate at their pace, in their own way, doing what they enjoy and earn amazing awards. You're a quiet warrior with 47 competitions since the beginning of the year and I look forward to seeing your participation in the upcoming GJW!

Master Kamjin "Maverick" Lap'lamiz, 2023-08-25 15:29:39 UTC

Ulfsark, congratulations on a lifetime of amazing XP that has you earning this Sapphire Blade.

You are a shining example of participating at your own pace, in the ways you find enjoyment, can still yield fantastic awards! I hope to see you participating in the upcoming GJW and earning even greater awards!

Master Kamjin "Maverick" Lap'lamiz, 2023-08-25 15:26:43 UTC

Zuser has been a long time contributor to Clan Plagueis, always to be counted on for participation in our major events. Since his last medal, he has participated in 46 competitions, with good showings in all three of the significant competitions we have hosted this year: Our Ascending Confederacy house feud, the Raiders of the Lost Arc clan feud against Taldryan, and the recently completed Pro Bowl. The last saw him complete his best slate of entries, with 7 competition submissions earning 42 points for his team. His competition entries have earned him 1 Diamond, 2 Amethyst, and 2 Topaz crescents. Additionally, he has been awarded six clusters of graphite for his graphics work. In addition to this, Zuser still possessed 3,342 medal XP from his long standing service to Clan Plagueis. His ongoing contributions to his home clan have shown his dedication to his clan mates stretching back more than a decade.

Master Selika Roh di Plagia, 2023-08-18 16:11:54 UTC

Since his last award, Kant has gradually plucked away at what the Brotherhood has to offer, completing 15 competitions (minus containers and brackets), collecting 2 Crescents along the way. From the Shadow Academy he's completed 16 courses and 4 degrees. By this steady effort, he's collected enough of that sweet sweet XP to earn his first Sapphire Blade. Congratulations, Kant!

Qyreia Arronen, 2023-08-05 17:00:04 UTC

Mauro is still churning out participation at a great clip. Since their last award in February, they have already earned enough XP for another stabby. Thanks for continuing to be active and a part of Clan Vizsla. Well done Mauro!

Korvyn, 2023-07-23 01:13:39 UTC