Shikyo has served on the Dark Council almost as long as I have been in the club. This is an impressive feat in an era where most of us only last a year or two before needing a break. But what did he do in six years? I think sometimes we forget how spoiled we are in this club. We sometimes take for granted the talent on loan to us from members who just make things happen day-in and day-out. So we get used to it. We begin to feel entitled to hundreds of robe options. We begin to get a little too used to having hundreds of lightsaber options. We even begin to think we are somehow owed hundreds of warbanner choices. We seem to forget where and how these things came to us.
Why do we feel like this? Why do we get annoyed when our custom robes are delayed? Why do we get annoyed when our custom lightsaber is not yet ready? Maybe it is because we are so used to people like Shikyo simply making it happen year after year that we have forgotten to stop and appreciate what we have. It has become common to expect these things and expect them in a timely fashion. How spoiled we are. We enjoy high-quality products and have since developed high-quality expectations. Why?
Because Shikyo has delivered them to us.
Rather than a knock against him, it should be a compliment. In his six years: hundreds of custom robes, hundreds of custom warbanners, over a THOUSAND custom lightsabers. All for us. And all virtually at the touch of a button. We had but to ask and Shikyo answered.
So here today, I would like to return the favor for the first time. I would like to give something to Shikyo rather than take something from him which is what we all usually do. I would like to give him this Sacramental Award, this small token of appreciation that I did not even have to make myself. All I had to do was write a few words and press a button. I am indeed pretty well spoiled by Shikyo and all the other great workhorses in this club who give so much for so little in return.
Shikyo, on behalf of a grateful Brotherhood, please accept this award and thank you for all you have done.
Raken, Deputy Grand Master
|o| >o< |o|
Six years... few individuals stay working the same job for this length of time in real life, even fewer stay in a position this long as part of a volunteer Club. Through these years we've seen the selection of Robes and Lightsabers available to members of the Dark Brotherhood steadily increase. Countless Warbanners were designed, not as templates, but for individual members to specifications they chose and submitted to the Herald and his Staff.
In addition to these responsibilities there are the ever present Club wide events always looming on the horizon. Each one sure to be needing Graphics or Multimedia Events to be created and tied into the storyline, followed quickly by dozens of submissions that members have poured their time into which need to be evaluated.
To keep up with these commitments for half the time that Shikyo has is a feat by itself, thank you for the tenacity you've demonstrated as you're completing this marathon run as Herald!
-Valhavoc, Fist of the Brotherhood
|o| >o< |o|
Six years. In terms of the Brotherhood that is two or three times the length of time some Characters live for, let alone server honorably in a Council position. It's already been stated by the councilors above what sort of volume of work Shikyo has had to deal with, and even those words may be understating reality. Looking back, I know I was one of those people who lost sight of how much work it all was. I grew to expect a new custom saber as soon as a promotion came through. And despite my naivety, Shikyo still managed to deliver.
Shikyo, you've been a good friend and an even better Herald. It's not going to be the same without you in that office, but I hope I'll still see you on IRC from time to time.
Solari/Windos, Headmaster
|o| >o< |o|
A couple of years ago, the record of Longest Serving Dark Council member was held by Kaine Mandaala, with a Herald term of over five years. At that time, such a long term was a grand feat, and it was near unthinkable that anybody would ever come close to it, let alone surpass it. Today, I found out that Shikyo has managed to accomplish the unthinkable: A six-year stretch as Herald. During this time, Shikyo delivered a multitude of custom robes, lightsabers and warbanners in the order of thousands, all of a very high quality. I've done some quick napkin-math, and this comes down to almost one item every day, which is an unbelievable feat, especially considering we're talking about one item every day over a stretch of six years.
Shikyo: Thank you for all your efforts. You've been awesome, we'll miss you. This Diamond Sword is well deserved.
James L. Entar, Seneschal
|o| >o< |o|
I've known for some time that this day was coming, but it doesn't make it any easier. Shikyo has been a constant companion, a consistent voice on the Dark Council for years now. I've trained him as Herald, and walked him up through to become one of the best heralds that the Brotherhood has ever seen. We've worked together to overcome obstacles and challenged each other to become better at what we were doing for as long as I can remember.
That goes back pretty far. Sarin telling me that I needed to find another herald, because he wasn't going to let me say no to Deputy Grand. Then Shikyo having the nerve to step up, and sign up for me to train him on how I do things, as opposed to the old way. It wasn't the easiest thing, to learn literally at my elbow for those months. Then Kaine telling me that his heart wasn't in it any more, and making it easy for me to tell Sarin that Shikyo was ready.
There's this old saying: "When elephants fight, it is the ground that loses." For years now, Shikyo and I have been trading blows, seeing who can come up with the coolest stuff for the DB. But rather than lose, every winter, the DB gets to enjoy some of the results of that ongoing competition. More and more of his work will filter out as certain other projects get completed and coded in.
Lots of people here may recognize his work and understand on some level how much time and energy goes into it. Many people will talk about how LONG he's held down the gig, even through deployments, college courses, career changes, girlfriends and all the other things real life throws at us to distract us from our work here. Some may even snark. But in the end, it's the work that matters.
It's the work that we recognize with medals, with promotions. Today, we honor Shikyo with a Diamond Sword, one of the rarest sacramental weapons in the Brotherhood. Today, we thank him for his six years of service on the Dark Council.
Today is about the work. It's about the 3 am teardowns and starting over from scratch. It's about staring at the list of work and trying not to panic while you develop a plan on how to get it done. It's about working so hard that you have to replace your mouse on a Saturday night. It's about taking the abuse from people that can't do the work and you can. It's about having a great idea, then hating yourself as you try to get it accomplished. It's about deciding you're done, only to get dragged back in by another great idea, the sense of duty and the drive to put more of your work out there. It's about staring at tiny details that no one will ever see in the final graphic, but you have to do it, because you know they're there.
Thank you, Brother. We'll be here when you're ready.
Muz Ashen, Dark Lord of the Sith
Lord Muz Ashen Keibatsu, 2013-10-07 23:41:41 UTC