Drawing graphics for the Dark Brotherhood in any official capacity can be, at the least, a very stressful job, but at best it is entirely fulfilling for the people who do it for the sake of others. Zehsaa is one of those people. Even before she was my magistrate, I knew Zehsaa had the will and wish to complete breathtaking artwork for others. Those qualities followed her through our Art chat and her own Clan as well. She has drawn many cute, serious, silly, funny, and endearing drawings for many people around the Club, including myself, and she has only transferred that determination into her job as Magistrate.

Since the start, Zehsaa has been working on member requests, for weapons and robes alike, as well as bi-monthly releases. In her, nearly 11-month-long stay in the Herald’s office, Zehsaa has completed a multitude of projects and graphics which include ten custom weapons and three custom robes done personally for our members, six beautiful robes, one weapon, and one accessory for the selector and two logos for the major position logo project we have released a few months ago. All in all, Zehsaa has completed 125 images just for the Heralds office.

Zehsaa’s influence, goodwill, and expertise didn’t stop there, as she has been very active in developing our Art community through the DB Art chat. She is regularly seen posting new and exciting artwork for every challenge issued by our staff and she is a regular participant in all graphics comps, Clan or Club-wide. Her knowledge of art has been beneficial to many members, actively or passively teaching them how to become better artists.

I am proud to have had Zehsaa as my Magistrate, I am sad that she is leaving the office, but I am also humbled by her spirit and her generosity, so with a level head and utmost gratitude I give this small token of appreciation to Zehsaa Hysh. Thank you for your outstanding work.

• Vyr (Morgan)
• Herald of the Brotherhood

Captain Morgan Sorenn, 2017-05-06 22:38:51 UTC

Ronovi Tavisaen is a member that has recently made her presence known in Plagueis once again, having returned to full activity levels for the first time in a few years. On either side of that gap, however, Ronovi has put up the sort of activity numbers and leadership work that many who were active for the entire intervening time have not matched. Now that she's made a more permanent return, it is my duty to put her name forward for the awarding of a Sapphire Blade.

In all, since her last recognition, Ronovi has been put together enviable levels of activity. She has participated in 136 competitions (a number I know that does not count some of her early Crusade entries that never made it onto the website) and placed in 28 of them. Those placements have earned her 6 Gold Novae, 4 Bronze Novae, 2 Diamond Crescents, 5 Ruby Crescents, 6 Amethyst Crescents, 3 Sapphire Crescents, 2 Emerald Crescents, and 3 Legions of the Scholar. She has 5 fiction activities for a total of 10,689 words (numbers I know are both under reporting her true total as much of her activity was not tracked by the site at the time), and 27 Clusters of Ice. She has also earned 3 Clusters of Fire and 5 Clusters of Earth as she begins to bring gaming activity into her repertoire and 6 of the new Clusters of Graphite for her graphics. As for Seals, she has earned 1 of Loyalty, 23 of the Crusader, and 7 of Reminisce. She received a rare non-mastor mentoring related Scroll of the Master, for helping Brimstone grow as a member of the Brotherhood beyond simply reaching the rank of Knight. And, as befiting a former Headmaster who is always looking to expand her education, she passed 11 SA courses and earned 2 of the then-new Dark Pundit degrees. Finally, as a leader she filed all 7 of her monthly reports during her tenure as Aedile and Quaestor, and ran a fiction event for the 2013 Independence Games.

Moreso than the raw numbers, however, is what those numbers mean in context. Ronovi wasn't just stacking up random mobile gaming or Trivia competitions, she was really showing up when it mattered. Throughout the third, fourth, and fifth rounds of the Dark Crusade, Ronovi entered 14 of the available 16 events (some of which aren't even tracked on the website), placing 1st in round 3 wiki, 1st in round 4 fiction, poetry, and RO, and 3rd in round 5 fiction, multimedia, and battleplan. Additionally, intervening between the rounds of the Crusade Ronovi entered seven events during the Independence Games and helped get out the entries for House Plagueis during that time. In addition to her own individual placements, she served as either Plagueis Aedile or Quaestor for that time, helping Plagueis continue to win rounds that would eventually lead to our House's victory in the Dark Crusade. The individually-focused member engagement she helped foster both through her own actions and through the guidance she provided to her fellow leaders was invaluable to creating the mindset in the House that everyone needed to compete to their fullest, and that victory was a very real possibility. Ensuring that the Plagueis leadership used one on one engagement and a personalized approach to their members made sure that people were not disengaged as mass-email messages would often do. As a leader in one of the top two summit positions in Plagueis for longer than any other person, her contributions cannot be understated. Following her most recent return back to Plagueis, Ronovi hit the competitive ground running and got back to where she had been during the Dark Crusade. In our just completed The Enemy Below event, Ronovi participated in 23 of the 24 possible events. Competitively, she earned 1st place finishes in all three Fiction events, Poetry, Logic Puzzle, and week 2 Cryptogram, 2nd place finishes in week 1 Cryptogram and Crawl Creator, and 3rd place in week 2 Flash Gaming 1. All told, Ronovi scored 202 total points and finished in first place for the event.

Ronovi Tavisaen is the last of the major contributors to Clan Plagueis's victory in the Dark Crusade that, due to her absence, has not received their due recognition for their contributions. Montressor, Tra'an Reith, Brimstone, Teylas, Eiko, Furios Morega, Arden Karn, and even myself have already taken home the spoils of that Vendetta, either in the form of Sacramental awards or Equite promotions. It gives me great joy to spend the time writing this recommendation and to be the one who finally submits it for consideration, one last piece of unfinished business from nearly three and a half years gone. You fought well for this back during the Crusade, and you have fought well for it in the several months before now. I, and Clan Plagueis, thank you for your contributions, may they continue making a lasting contribution to your adopted home.

Master Selika Roh di Plagia, 2017-04-17 02:57:16 UTC

Battlemaster Dracaryis had the unenviable role of assuming the position of Fist following a tumultuous turnover in the administration sections of the Fist Office. Drac was being considered for multiple positions across the DJB at the time, but his ability to communicate in clear terms made him an exceptionally appealing candidate to lead our club's gaming into the future.

Drac has accomplished nearly every small goal task we set out for him upon assuming the role of Fist. He has reviewed CF balancing, he has conducted new game testing, and he has streamlined the communication between our members and the DC (19 News Updates and over 57 news comments). He has also accomplished the primary task we expect from our Fist: He runs competitions. Between his previous roles and his current, Drac has organized over 45 competitions and has co-organized over 100. These competitions have varied and run the full spectrum of our club's gaming activities.

Drac's work on the DC has been phenomenal thus far and we look forward to his future work. Please accept this SB from Deputy Grand Master Mav and I.

GM Pravus

Grand Master Declan Roark, 2017-03-17 15:10:33 UTC

Vanguard Turel Sorenn is one of the best members and leaders within the Dark Brotherhood. His activity is second to none and his achievements on the Odan Urr leadership team have been outstanding. Beyond the statistics of organizing of organizing 29 competitions, co-organizing 4 competitions, running a Clan Feud, and participating in over 96 competitions; Turel has created an environment within COU that has fostered friendship and a desire to improve the Dark Brotherhood. The truly successful leadership teams in the DJB unite their members and build a sense of community/family that drives our club towards the future and keeps our members returning. The secret to the DJB's success is not bringing members back to earn crescents, but rather bringing members back to hang out with their friends. Turel has fostered this within his Clan and it has been a pleasure to watch COU grow from the little house that could to one of our powerhouse Clans.

It is a true oversight on my part that Turel has yet to earn a Sacramental award in his career and I am honored to finally be the one to ensure he has received his first.

Congrats on your SB!

Grand Master Declan Roark, 2017-01-24 16:30:33 UTC

Warlord Teylas Ramar di Plagia performed brilliantly as the Clan Plagueis Consul. During our recent discussions on his pending retirement Teylas made an offhanded comment that highlights this performance as a Consul. "Plagueis is a machine right now and is capable of operating on its own and succeeding." This statement; although designed to highlight the Clan's success, is a testament to the job that Teylas has done as the leader of Plagueis.

It has been five months since we last awarded Teylas an AK for his activity as Consul and Magistrate, but it is only fitting that we award him for his work since then. Teylas has maintained a steady pace of running competitions, feuds, and keeping his Clan running in the right direction. All of this work is worthy of praise as well as worthy of an award.

Teylas, thank you for your service to the DJB and congratulations on your SB!

Grand Master Declan Roark, 2017-01-24 16:35:11 UTC

I am honored to be writing this recommendation for Riku Keibatsu. He has been an excellent leader within CNS, and continues to serve well as Aedile of House Marka Ragnos, a position he has held for the entire nine months since his last recognition. Beyond that, he has been a leading participant in competitions on his own, and is always at the forefront of any event in CNS. Beyond his House leadership, he has also served as a Magistrate to the Headmaster for the past six months, which Marcus' supporting recommendation will attest to. It's not easy to balance a demanding Magistrate job along with the duties of an Aedile, while still continuing to maintain a high level of activity, but Riku has managed to do so.

Riku has done a good job of leading in House Marka Ragnos. He helped run the "Rest and Relaxation" event for the House along with Tasha when she was Quaestor, which resulted in a total of nine members of the House participating, with nineteen total entries. Along with Tasha, he spent significant time planning, writing, and judging for this event. He additionally ran The Void run-on competition along with DarkHawk. Riku led in the creation of this event and fleshing out the idea, and worked closely with DarkHawk. This really exemplifies Riku's ability to get members involved with projects and competitions, and I know that afterward the two were pretty satisfied. Together they spent several hours to develop the story, which included bouncing it back and forth between each other and me and Sang. It isn't always easy to get our approval for things, but whenever we requested a change or made a suggestion, Riku was quick to respond to it and ensure their work was modified. In the end, he and DarkHawk co-authored 3332 words of fiction supporting the event. They further went on to judge 9700 words of fiction from the collected entries.

Riku has also run a number of stand-alone competitions for the club as a whole on his own. These have generally been pretty good, well-thought-out ideas, as evidenced by the participation of 45 different members, for a total of 63 entries. A lot of times, club-wide competitions that are not part of a major event seem to be overlooked, but Riku had no trouble accumulating a lot of entries for his. As a result, I'm frequently excited to see what kinds of competitions he comes up with.

Additionally, he has worked on a lot of fiction and other supporting updates for his House. Riku has written 4297 words of official House fiction, and helped coordinate roughly 13,000 more that were written by other members of the House Summit. He further worked on wiki pages such as the Kar Alabrek page, which is the House's home city. This page totals 2800 words, and Riku spent time revising it. This included going through contradictory information from the past several years (and many fictional direction changes), reaching out to older members who remember what happened during these times, and compiling the information together. He then had to run it through Muz to get it approved and further revised, before it was ready to go.

In addition to his leadership listed above, Riku has participated in a total of 44 competitions since his last recognition. While this isn't the same super high, over-time amount as some of his peers, Riku is known for hitting big Clan events with outstanding participation. This is evidenced by his activity in the feud we had with CSP, where Riku was one of only five members (totalled from both Clans) who participated in all seventeen competitions. He also used this time to encourage his peers to participate and led the House through the feud as Aedile, along with his Quaestor Tasha. Due to their efforts, HMR produced 91 entries for the feud, averaging ten per member. When the feud was over, even though CNS lost, it was HMR members who earned the gold and silver novae for the event, placing first and second overall. There's no doubt in my mind that Riku's leadership helped lead to this.

More recently, he also participated in all seven of the Project S.P.E.C.I.A.L competitions. Riku is a leader who never expects more from his members than he is willing to put in, and this is exemplified in his participation and his work. Both his event participation and contributions to House materials like fiction and wiki pages are excellent, setting a great example for his members. If there is a leader who 'leads from the trenches', Riku is a perfect example.

I'm proud to be recommending this award for Riku. He is someone who has been on our Summit for a long time and his contributions have been very significant. CNS would not be in the same place it is today if he had not come to us, and we would not have enjoyed many of the successes we've had without him. When a Consul or Quaestor looks for a new Summit member, they want someone who will not only participate, but also work behind the scenes to improve their unit. Riku excels in both of these.

Congratulations, Riku!

Consul of Naga Sadow

Epis Locke Sonjie, 2017-01-22 18:28:58 UTC

Eminent Val Cole has been awarded the Sapphire Blade for his work on the early phases of possession, alpha testing, beta testing, and balancing of credit supply and rank credit policies.

Grand Master Declan Roark, 2016-12-09 21:06:11 UTC

Arcia has been my Praetor since January 2016. His contributions to the staff since his promotion, also in January, have been many. To keep it short and to the point, Arcia (or as I call him — Esca) has participated in all selector item Releases this year: In February he created 2 Syndicate robes, male and female, for the members, yielding 30 different combinations and images. In April he had a similar task and created 2 Rebel robes for our Rebels-themed release, which also yielded 30 different combinations. In June he was tasked with creating a single saber and a dual variant which he did, yielding 59 dual and 42 single Mist saber images. In October he created a set of Spacer robes, yielding 64 images in as many combinations, as well as a set of quarterstaff items for the yielding 3 images. In terms of time requirements, it takes between three and six hours to complete any one item completely and get approval from me and critiques from the staff, which is a process we go through with any and all graphics. It maintains quality while helping the staff improve. He has gone through many iterations of the items he has released before being completely satisfied with his work. Furthermore, he has completed 17 custom weapons, six warbanners and 4 banners/headers for leader reports.

In the Possessions system, I have found his presence invaluable. He has been my go-to man for all critiques and I have to compliment his keen eye and attention for detail. He has reviewed and critiqued store interfaced and the item images we have released on multiple occasions, always pointing out flaws or places to improve to make the member experience as authentic and as special as possible. He has created twenty-four item images form of placeholder images and independent item images which are currently uploaded to the website.

His other projects include the popular Sketch Something competition series that he lead consistently for 3 months. The event yielded 7 total competitions with 27 unique participants and 65 overall entries across the length of the event. He has participated as an organizer or co-organizer in 17 different competitions for the herald staff, a task usually not associated with our station and office. All of these competitions were very popular in the Dark Brotherhood art community and drew in more people than ever before. That said, Arcia has also been a vocal supporter of our efforts to establish and maintain a healthy art community in the Brotherhood. He has been a moderator, critic, supporter, and artist in the DB Art Club channel since its inception and is always willing to help out new and aspiring artists with his knowledge and experience.

On a more personal note, Arcia has been my biggest supporter in the past year and a half. I have gone almost exclusively to him regarding all the massive changes that happened in my term, from including different types of weapons into the custom request system to including the new orders into the website. He has always had a cool head in any situation, always advising me on the proper course of action even when I couldn’t manage. He is largely responsible for the Requisition Limit rule I have implemented and has participated in the creation of almost every Herald policy since July 2015.

In conclusion, Arcia (or Esca) is an invaluable Praetor and partner in my efforts to bring graphics and art from the obscurity it has been held in for years. He has succeeded at successfully accomplishing each task I have given him so far, and I have faith and absolute trust in his abilities to do so from now on. Thank you for your service, your work so far, and your patience with all my pestering. Congratulations!

• Vyr (Morgan)
• Herald of the Brotherhood

Captain Morgan Sorenn, 2016-11-28 21:11:28 UTC

I have known Bloodfyre for a very long time. When I first stepped into the role of Deputy Grand Master under Firefox, Bloodfyre was the existing Praetor and, in what turned out to be an excellent decision, I kept him on. Since then, Bloodfyre and I have crossed paths in numerous ways throughout the last decade or longer. However, it hasn't been until I appointed Bloodfyre as Left Hand of Justice that I have been able to work again with him as a member of my staff. I have been grateful for the opportunity.

The Hand positions within the Chamber of Justice are incredibly important, the Left Hand of Justice Especially. In its first function, the Left Hand is an advisor to the Justicar. He is a voice of reason that acts as a sort of devil's advocate in the development of cases. His outlook is always to be to the members' rights. He is to focus on the doubt of a case, rather than the the quality of it. In the second place, but just as important, the Left Hand is an interface between the membership--especially the accused member--and the Justicar. He serves as an advisor to members under investigation, helps them know their rights and develop their case, and makes sure that fairness is paramount.

Bloodfyre has exceeded my expectations on both of these functions. Since his appointment as Left Hand, I have been ever thankful to have his constant advice and view to fall back on. Bloodfyre is to a point in his career where he doesn't need to mince words or suck up to me. But he still has a way to say what he needs to without getting at an argument full tilt. He has a unique way of simply making me think about issues, and always about important issues. In the context of trials, Bloodfyre has easily taken the defense of members and identified the key legal issues that are at issue in the case. In each of the cases where he has served as Left Hand, Bloodfyre identified the same weaknesses in the case did at the same time as me, and he was able to provide me with coherent arguments to go against the grain of the prosecution. I didn't always agree with him in the end, but his efforts made me consider the issue, and in a few cases his efforts clearly led to different case results. In every instance, the considerations raised by Bloodfyre were such that I felt the need to address them in my Justicar Opinions.

The most important role for Bloodfyre has been assisting members that are going through the trial process. This is where Bloodfyre has shined. He has been able to effectively communicate with members as to their rights and obligations under the Covenant. In many cases, Bloodfyre has been able to talk the members into tempering their response to the CoJ after they have a better understanding of what they did wrong and what it means for them. I have tried to institute a liberal policy of accepting members back into the club after punishment, and Bloodfyre has helped members understand that possibility. He goes well above and beyond in this capacity. He acts as an advisor and counselor. He really stands in their shoes and tries to help them through the case issues. In some cases that is not hard. In some cases, like the recent harassment case, that is very, very hard. His efforts are incredibly instrumental to the CoJ.

To be specific, Bloodfyre has sat in on four cases that went through the full judicial process and an additional 12-13 pre-filing matters that never reached the point of charges. Those cases that did not result in charges included cases of alleged cheating, cloning, harassment, removal of a member from a unit, and other Covenant issues. On average, for each of those matters, Bloodfyre would have spent up to several hours reviewing logs and documentation, and communicating with the parties involved and with me about the relative positions. With regard to the cases he has handled, the most recent case, DB v. Darth Vexatus, was the most trying and important for the Left Hand. Bloodfyre engaged in dozens of emails and telegram conversations with the defendant and me in an attempt to reach some sort of "settlement" on the issues. His actions, in my mind, resulted in us being able to avoid a nasty trial and ultimately led to a quick resolution of the case. Throughout, Bloodfyre did what he needed to do, and still argued well for the positions of the defendant (see, for example, the discussions in the opinion about intent and privacy).

In addition to working cases, Bloodfyre has also been instrumental in ensuring that the next version of the Covenant will be exactly what the DB needs. He has read the Covenant not with an eye to procedure and the literal text, but rather to the vision of the future of the DB. To that end, he has made important contributions to sections as big as the Star Chamber. For example, he has helped me clarify the role of the Star Chamber in reviewing fundamental changes to the Brotherhood by the Grand Master and strike a balance in the authority of Dark Councilors versus leaders of independent units. In all, I have received nearly 30 substantive comments on the Covenant from Bloodfyre. He has been excellent on that project.

I have a hard time quantifying the amount of time that Bloodfyre has spent in his role as Left Hand. I can tell you that I have spent hours upon hours talking with him, thinking through his arguments and points, and responding. I am certain that he has put many times that into his role. Especially when it involves talking with the accused members; Bloodfyre opens the clock to them and gives them every effort. It's an effort that is hard to count, but from my viewpoint, it's easy to see. And in my experience, given the other recommendations that join this, I believe that Bloodfyre is truly deserving of this award.

Bloodfyre is one of those members who has been around forever, but unlike many he has kept an optimism about him, driven by a true love for the club and for what he does. I am glad to have had this opportunity to work with him again, and look forward to many more years of his contributions to this club.

Thank you, BF.

Jac

Jac Cotelin, 2016-11-19 20:42:56 UTC

When a member makes an enormous contribution to our club and leaves his mark on the community around him, it is an impressive feat. These individuals come along rarely and should be celebrated for their long-term commitment, tenacity, and consistency. I am honored to recommend Rulvak ‘Warp’ Qurroc for the Sapphire Blade for his holistic contributions to House Galeres, Clan Arcona, and the Gaming Community of the Brotherhood.

Since his last recognition, Warp has (co)Organized 25 competitions, participated in 89 competitions, recorded 26 PvP Matches, logged 327 PvE Activities, penned 1 Fiction Activity, and passed 1 Shadow Academy course. In that same time, he has collected 40 Crescents (9 Cr-D, 11 Cr-R, 10 Cr-A, 6 Cr-S, 3 Cr-E, 1 Cr-Q), 1 Pendant of Blood, 2688 Clusters of Fire, 2395 Clusters of Earth, and 1 Scroll of the Master (Knight Jake Blazer). In that same amount of time, he has served as the Battle Team Leader of the Nighthawk and consistently had participation rates ranging from 90%-100% each month on his 10 man team. While simultaneously training his new BTS (Shawnathan) to run competitions, write reports, and engage with members via e-mail & Telegram.

Warp represents a member archetype that every Clan desperately needs: insanely active, no ego. As a member, he rallies others and creates camaraderie through constant e-mail/report/TG communication. As a leader, he creates dynamic Clan-Wide content through Arcona Gaming Dominance (2 AGD’s since his last recognition; each averages 8 weeks with 16 competitions) which I will allow others to speak about. And he ran his first, major Brotherhood-wide competition for Destiny - a game where he continues to mold, shape, and enhance many member’s experiences. Each of these things independently make a great member. Together, this shows a member trying to better those around him, rally his Clan to dominate GMRG standings (every quarter for the past year), and improve the Brotherhood’s overall experience.

Thank you for the dedication and sacrifice, Warp. I truly appreciate what you do for me on a daily basis. And I know it cannot be easy to balance the demands on your time, but you always make us a priority. Congratulations on your first sacrificial blade!

Braecen Kaeth
Quaestor of Galeres

Golden Envoy Abbey Atty Attiter Ann, 2016-08-28 11:23:20 UTC