What Graus did was nothing short of miraculous. His work is of a quality that deserves to be showcased to the entire Brotherhood. It should be held up as an example of what constitutes a (duh) winning formula. Indeed, Graus has shown what it is to be moved by his comrades and his Clan. During Horizons, he stepped up to the plate. Producing some absolutely stunning graphics pieces, along with many other entries, Graus stormed to the top of the rankings, placing 10th overall. He was an example of what true dedication, hard work and ambition can produce. A shining light to those journeymen who felt it was impossible to score any points against the smorgasbord of top-end participants. It would not be untoward to suggest that this man is the reason so many Arconans participated in later weeks, and was integral in ensuring that all participants from Arcona, from Journeymen through to the Elder classes, gave 110% in their efforts to success.
On the Dark Jedi Brotherhood Wikipedia it states that a Dark Jedi Knight may be awarded Equite 1 "... after demonstrating above and beyond performance as a Dark Jedi Knight." Graus, I feel, has done much more than that. He has shown that, regardless of rank, there is an unfathomable amount of talent in this Brotherhood. It is people like him that this Brotherhood still lives to facilitate.
I hold Graus up as an example to the Brotherhood. The embodiment of years of hard work. He represents everything I could ever hope for in a Journeyman from Arcona. And more.
Really well done, Dan.
You deserve it.
~Wuntila Arconae,
Consul.
I am proud to have had Graus as a student. He may not have reached DJK in record time, but did it at his own pace in order to do an exceptional job. His summit task was to add a section to the Port Ol'val wiki page, but after he finished that, it wasn't enough for him. He then designed the HQD base from scratch. It had long been missing a section since HQD moved to Port Ol'val and he took it upon himself to create one for us. Long after his DJK promotion, he is still working on this, adding in intricate details and now, as if that wasn't enough, he is hand-drawing the base itself. I saw the preliminary sketch and I am excited! But truly, this is merely par for the course.
No matter what it is, Graus goes in gun blazing. He does not do "half-ass". Take, for instance, the recent vendetta Horizons. He has a full time life outside of DB but not only did he manage to participate, but every single one of his entries received no less than 4th place, and he came in 10th place overall with just four novae. That is how you go in "guns blazing" and win the day.
He wins with distinction, but he wins quietly from the shadows. Graus is the nice, humble kind that will come out of nowhere and blow your mind, as I believe he did in Horizons. Graus, youâre a star, and donât you forget it. Thank you for all youâve done and continue to do for DB and Arcona, and welcome to the ranks of the Equites!
~Socorra Erinos, Quaestor of House Qel-Droma
Graus is one of the most overlooked and extraordinary Knights with which Arcona has been blessed. Between his efforts on the Wiki (on which he went far beyond the call of duty or even reason) and the War, he has shown himself to be one of the most amazing and skilled members the Arcona team is proud to have. When Graus does something, he does so with his full attention and effort, and moreover does so without the smallest shred of hubris. Instead, he has been quiet and humble, almost demure even as he fought his way to a tenth-place finish in Horizons.
For all this and more, I recommend that Graus be promoted to the ranks of the Equites.
-Timeros Caesus Entar Arconae, Rollmaster Arcona
Graus has been turning heads since powering his way to Dark Jedi Knight. In that time, he has made considerable leaps and bounds and continues to impress and delight his fellow Clan Mates, superiors, and even those outside the Clan. I guess I'm the only one not turning my head, because I knew that Graus was more than capable of everything he's been doing. His abilities as an artist extend beyond just his activity, but reach out into his drawing skill and writing ability. It's rare for members to excel so proficiently at both, which makes Graus a rare talent. He has used his talents only for good, doing massive work in helping bring life to Port Ol'val, which has been in dire need of graphical imagery on its wiki, and adding in sections as a writing contributor as well. His performance in the recent Vendetta aside, Graus is a symbol of what members should strive for, and I believe he is fully deserving of joining the ranks of Equites.
-Marick Arconae
Proconsul, Clan Arcona
I think that what everyone has already said about Graus in favor of promoting him to the ranks of Equites speaks for itself. If that weren't enough, the sheer fact that he is coming up for promotion a mere two months after being knighted, impressing the entire Arconan summit also speaks volumes. It is clear that he is the new standard that we should be holding all of our journeymen to...in fact, perhaps we should make this meteoric rise the new guidelines for promotion to Equite 1.
-Scelestus, Aedile of House Qel-Droma
I barely knew Graus, or Ginnafae, as he was then known until I became Gatewarden. Since then, I have found him to be perhaps the most active of any of the Gatekeepers. In particular, he took part in no less than five Horizons events, including the Run-On, The Co-op fiction, the Battleplan, the Comic Graphics and the âaffectedâ Graphics. Not only this, but he came in the top 5 in all of these events, ending up 10th overall. Had he had had more time, itâs possible that Graus could have been the overall champion, such is his dedication to his work.
He is also a fantastic artist, and has used his excellent hand drawing skills to further embellish the Port Olâval Wiki Article that he wrote so much of. I have not seen some of this work, yet, but I am sure that it will be of top notch quality when it does make it to the public domain!
Welcome to the Equites, Priest Colvin!
-Battlelord Andrelious J. Inahj, Gatewarden, Shadow Gate
General Socorra Tenebrosa Nhar’qual Erinos, 2012-11-16 18:39:07 UTC