Shikyo has done a crazy amount of work over the last few years, between HSH, creating numerous custom lightsabers for the members as well as creating warbanners. He's been hard at work with the Face Selector and various parts of the possession system. He has served as an advisor to Naga Sadow along with myself, helping the younger generation become the leaders that they are now. I'd say he's more than deserving of a promotion to the next rank. Congrats bro! ~ OPM Fremoc Pepoi, Fist of the Brotherhood.

Can someone check the all-time record for Dark Council tenure? Really impressive what you have accomplished as a DC member. Visual engagement of our members is one of the most important things we offer. It sets the hook. The options Shikyo and his team provides to us are second-to-none. Robes. Sabers. Warbanners. You won't find customization like that anywhere else. And certainly not for free. I appreciate all the work this man has done for us and look forward to his work in the future. - Raken, Shadow Hand

Shikyo has been an outstanding Herald for the Brotherhood. His time and dedication to his job is evident in the robes and sabers that have been added to the selector. I have watched him hone his skills over the years and improve his techniques. His leadership as a member of the DC is invaluable and his love for this club shines through those he has mentored. I am proud to recommend him for this promotion.

~Ashia Kagan Keibatsu, Consul Emeritus

Fix my robes. Fix my lightsaber. Fix my banner. Draw me new robes. Draw me a new lightsaber. Draw me a new banner. I want a lightsaber made out of a blaster with the Dark Side glowing off of the hilt! And the demands of the Herald go on and on. Shikyo has heard these demands for five years, two years at the same rank, and over one year without an award. To say he is deserving of a promotion to Dark Jedi Master is an understatement. Shikyo has performed year after year fulfilling the small weapon/armor/banner fantasies of the entire Dark Jedi Brotherhood. His craft and expertise have produced numerous select-able items for our members to enhance their experience within the Dark Brotherhood. If there were ever a slam dunk recommendation to Dark Jedi Master, this is it. Congratulations!

-GM Pravus, Voice

The problem with Elder promotions is that at this level the recommendation is often worth more than the promotion itself. And honestly, most of us are at a loss for words where Shikyo is involved. We can point at his work, and see the scores of new products he has released in his tenure. We can point at his ever-increasing skill. I remember teaching him the ropes in Corel like it was yesterday... and here he is, beating my own mentor's record for longest serving Herald. I could point at his leadership skill, despite being in a position that doesn't really directly 'lead' anything but a small staff.

But here's what I can say.

There have always been some who say that Shikyo is just my little brother. That he's going to always be in my shadow. I am saying right now that he's not. He's the guy who keeps me motivated to draw, which is one of the things that fuels my own fire for the brotherhood. He challenges me, my ideas, my concepts, and he always comes back with something better, urging me to step up my game, to give everything I have to my work.

How do you reward a guy who leads the leader?

This isn't enough, Shikyo.

But it's a start.

--Muz Ashen, Dark Lord of the Sith

Lord Muz Ashen Keibatsu, 2013-02-20 14:10:17 UTC

I am honored to have been asked to write a recommendation for James. He is, without a doubt, the person I look up to most in the Brotherhood, and one of the few people I feel the urge to buy a plane ticket to go meet and shake his hand in person.

He has been Seneschal for nine months now, and constantly a member of the SCL staff as either Lord Archon or some form of Magistrate (including Special and Empowered) since his promotion to Dark Side Adept.

My mind boggles when I consider the work he has been a part of in the various efforts to maintain and expand the Dark Brotherhood website. I truly believe that without James, our current website would be crippled or dead, and a replacement website nowhere in sight.

However, thanks to James, the current website is serviceable and a new - faster, better, stronger - website is just around the corner. His work hosting a beta site, and managing the hoards of people who have access to it is commendable. His improvements and additions to it are consistent and top quality. For all this effort, he is never "above" listening to and taking action on feedback; or scrapping an idea if he finds a better solution.

If he needs something tested that he has just implemented, he'll generally ask people who are on on IRC and prompt them for feedback. He even helped me realize I hadn't paid enough attention when testing the new Character Sheets, as he explained what I was asking to be changed about it was already in place.

Once the new main site for the Brotherhood was in a state he was happy with, where the main bulk of the work was complete, he spearheaded the start of the development of a new Shadow Academy site.

He told us to list everything we wanted out of the new site, and not to limit ourselves to what the current site could do. The worst that would happen if we requested something that couldn't be easily coded was that it may be delayed until after launch, or an alternative looked into.

Fortunately, James managed to take our massive list of requests and work flow, and turned it into a workable spec sheet, incorporating all that we had asked for. I have no doubt that under James' guidance the Shadow Academy will become every bit as awesome as it needs to be.

James has also developed a tool called Promotheus, which I believe was once intended to help the summit of Arcona, but now services the entire Brotherhood. This tool helps keep track of Journeymen and when they are eligible for promotions. This has helped dramatically in making sure that no members fall through the cracks when they deserve a promotion.

Promotheus, on the current site, is pretty slow. I understand it takes over an hour to check every member of the Brotherhood currently, but James managed to speed it up dramatically as part of creating the new website. It now take maybe a minute or two to check every dossier, and is so fast that it can be made to re-check a dossier whenever something changes on it (like a member getting a medal.) This will speed up the recognition of a potential Journeyman promotion dramatically.

James has since assisted me in extending Promotheus, such that it can check for people who are eligible for, and eventually award, Dark Side Degrees.

All of the above is to say, James is, in my opinion, one of the most stand up and influential guys in the Brotherhood. His work may not always be in the face of every member, but he touches every members "Brotherhood lives."

Congratulations James, and keep up the Kick-assery.

~Solari, Headmaster

James is one of the few major contributors to the club over the years that I don't know well. So what I'm forced to do is "know him through his work." Each time I log onto the new website, I get to know James a little better. With every click I can see the passion he has for the club. With every new function implemented I can feel how much James cares about our corner of the Star Wars universe.

Most recently I've seen his passion for the material shift into a whole new gear with his work on the new Character Sheet coding process. Literally overnight James had a working model based off the "proposal" CS document. Overnight. We've seldom had that kind of power at our fingertips when implementing new systems. With James on our team I am truly excited to see what comes next. Because with him, every day is like Christmas.

-Raken, Shadow Hand

Hey Jam3z, can you take this ancient website coded by multiple people and convert it to a new language, on a new server, and replicate every single function it currently has, but you need to make it better. Thanks buddy. This sums up what we have asked Jam3z to do for the Dark Brotherhood. The final product is nearing release and we are already stacking new requirements on Jam3z and he is completing them at a rate that can only be described as incredible. Our coders have always been slow to receive awards despite the tremendous amount of pressure and work we have put on them, but those days are long gone. It is truly an honor to recommend our SCL for Dark Jedi Master. Congrats buddy!

-GM Pravus, Voice

Jam3z is a god. He erupted fully formed from the womb of Ada Lovelace and studied with Babbage and Turing. He killed his father, an Olympian god of copper and silicon, using nothing but a few lines of code and a shot of liquor. When he woke up from a fifty year nap, he was offered jobs with Microsoft and apple, Cisco and Bell labs. Instead, he has blessed us with his presence, almost singlehandedly creating a new website for us that is clean and awesome, drawing in elements from suggestions as easily as I am typing this right now. When Shadow, Sarin, Raken and I were discussing character sheets, he got copied and CODED IT UP ON THE SPOT, to explain it better. My mind = blown. So... Jam3z Entar != Dark Side Adept. Please take this as a token, a sacrifice, O god of the code. For all that you have done, and all that I know that you are currently doing, thank you.

-Muz Ashen, Dark Lord of the Sith

Lord Muz Ashen Keibatsu, 2013-02-20 14:09:40 UTC

From the beginning of his Dark Council career, Fremoc has had to take on some pretty overwhelming odds. He was helping to revive a society that many of the older members had long known and treasured, he was a fresh leader who had not held a clan-level position, and he was left to learn the ropes on his own. Since becoming the Fist of the Brotherhood, I have seen Fremoc dare to challenge authorities who had been long established and individuals who had accomplished a lot before his time. He is firm in his dedication to the Grand Master's Royal Guard and its development and to the improvement of the club in its entirety. When it comes to the elevation into the Elders, I feel that a member must be a keystone to the development of the club, if not a clan at the very minimum. Fremoc is a crucial member among the Sons of Sadow, as well as a major asset among those on the Dark Council.

It is with great honor that I recommend Fremoc Pepoi the rank of Dark Side Adept and all the privelage awarded to his elevation. Congratulations, "Bishop" and welcome to the Elders!

-DA Shikyo Sasuke Keibatsu, Herald of the Dark Brotherhood

I don't think we've given Fremoc enough credit in the past. If you look at who is active now. We were all either directly or indirectly recruited by him. I'm almost the exception, since Taig recruited me, but I would have never applied for PCON or CON without Fremoc's support. I just wanted to say that. The guy's a total jackass and I'd say it to him but I don't want to look like a suckup.

-Locke, Consul of Clan Naga Sadow

I have watched Fremoc grow as a leader. Not just as the Grand Master's Fist but as a valuable member of the DC. He continually provides support to the clans and houses, mentors and advises members and keeps the gaming alive. I am proud of the work he has done for us and for all the time spent in tireless service to the DB.

-Ashia Keibatsu, Consul Emeritus

One of my first interactions with Fremoc as a Deputy Grand Master was his emailing me to ask what more he could be doing. When someone who is already doing everything this man does for us comes to you and asks what more could we ask of him, well, it's humbling. Gaming is probably the one area of the club I participate in the least. I only get so much time and I have to make sacrifices somewhere. But when I do make it to Fremoc's corner of the club, I am always impressed by the completeness and breadth of his work. If you can get someone like myself to actually want to be part of the GMRG, you must be doing something right.

Thank you, Fremoc, for everything you do for us. And thank you for the refreshing attitude you bring to the equation of always wanting to do more.

-Raken, Shadow Hand

Obelisk Primarch Fremoc Pepoi has established himself as one of the most active Dark Council members in the history of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. He has taken the realm of gaming and thoroughly refined and revamped all aspects resulting in massive improvements for our club. Fremoc has meticulously studied new games across a plethora of platforms and provided the Dark Brotherhood with ever increasing forms of activity. Additionally, he has revamped the Cluster of Fire process ensuring equality and fairness in the awarding of the medal across multiple games and platforms. Fremoc has also taken on the burden of serving not only as the Fist and Commander of the Guard, but also as the Dark Brotherhood's TOR guild leader. The position of MMO guild leader is often more than one individual can handle, but Fremoc has conducted it while serving on the DC, a feat truly amazing. It is my honor to recommend Fremoc for the rank of Dark Adept. Welcome to the big time.

-GM Pravus, Voice

Let me first start off by saying it is my great honor and privilege to write this recommendation. For the person I am writing this for is more then deserving. I have yet to see a more dedicated, more hard working and consistent DB member. Fremoc quite literally dedicates several hours of every single day to his position and to the club. In the past year he has literally only taken 9 days of "off" time. He is FIST all day every day. Juggling 20 things at a time and adding more to the plate by the minute.

In the past year alone he as completed an incredible number of things. In fact, too many to list. Just to name a few Fremoc created the ToR guild and has maintained it since before launch. Not an easy task to say the least. It requires daily attention. The guild has been revamped and fine tuned numerous times over the last year. We are still over 300 strong, running several raid groups and maintaining a steady group of dedicated players. I have worked with him to create a detailed management structure to ensure the guilds continued success. The ToR guild is like a newborn baby. Needing constant care. Fremoc does it very well.

Outside of the ToR guild he is responsible for maintaining the Rites of Combat which have undergone numerous revisions. The RoC is an ongoing project. To which several of his Magistrates have been assigned. Which brings me to his staff. Fremoc tends to have 3-4 Magistrates working on projects at all times. Takes quite a bit of delegation and management skill to ensure the work is getting done in a timely manner. On top of the magistrates and his praetor he also has a few dedicated members working on side projects and beta testing games.

The position of FIST is intense and extremely time consuming. Fremoc is by far the most organized person I know. His calendar and his email are insane. He is on top of it at all times. He literally eats, sleeps, breaths DB. He takes any task no matter how great or small head on. Fremoc's ambition is limitless. There is not a day that goes by that he isn't consulting me about an idea he has for the club. On top of his regular time consuming duties he creates side projects for himself to try out new and exciting things for the club.

In my limited experience in the DB I have found it rare to see someone consistently dedicated. Fremoc is. His desire to better the club and help it grow is inspiring. He has single handedly paid for several of the servers such as JA/JO/Teamspeak out of his own pocket for several years now so that we can all enjoy gaming in the club. And he does so without being asked and without expecting even so much as a thank you.

I could go on for days singing his praises. He has done so much for this club and continues to do so. He is what our Elders should be. Fremoc has been an inspiration to me and several others. Fremoc I wish you knew how very much you are appreciated. Your hard work, dedication and consistency are unprecedented. You always say I am your right hand and I am honored to be by your side wearing elephant shoes with you :P I cannot wait to see what the future holds for you in this club. Don't stop doing what you are doing. Your mark on the club has truly made a difference.

Congratulations Fremoc. I am so proud of all that you have accomplished and will accomplish in the future. -Kalia, Praetor to the Master At Arms

My determination on whether or not a member is an Elder is remarkably simple and complex at the same time. Is the person an Elder? Are they well respected by the membership? Would the Club be worse off without their influence? Can we see directly the results of their work on a high level? Are they a leader? Can they get projects done without having to be told that they need doing?

Over the past few months, I have been watching Fremoc, keeping my eye on him to see how he handles things, how he handles adversity, how he handles stress, how he handles all of the little detritus that the world throws at any person who cares enough to put himself out there in front. It's a tough gig, and all too often, people capitulate under the weight of it.

Fremoc has not.

It is not about making mistakes. We all make mistakes. It is in how one recovers from them. Fremoc has used his mistakes to make himself better, to make his staff better, to refine the brotherhood in those spheres that he can influence. He refuses to let those who only see the negatives drag him down, and has kept his activity level painfully high. He soldiers on, working harder than anyone I have seen in his role.

Fremoc is not a follower. He is a leader.

And that makes him an elder.

• Muz Ashen, Dark Lord of the Sith

Lord Muz Ashen Keibatsu, 2013-02-20 14:09:01 UTC

NOV Spectre is doing a remarkable job in completing the tasks required for promotion. He has passed three Shadow Academy courses including DB Basics, has registered on the forums, and has been active on IRC. This merits a promotion to Acolyte.

Congrats Spectre! Keep up the great work.

Koryn Thraagus RM of Scholae Palatinae

Koryn Palpatine Thraagus, 2013-02-20 07:09:44 UTC