Event History

Tarax...many things can be said for Tarax. But let's keep it at this.
Tarax is a long and hard pillar of Taldryan, perhaps even the Brotherhood as a whole. Tarax is the kind of stand-up man that is not afraid to voice his opinion, he isn't a "yes man" that will just sit back and nod silently. He actively contributes on many levels for Taldryan. To shed a light on what I mean: I struggled with my health for a good month earlier this year, and Tarax (on his own accord) stepped up to keep things in Dinaari going in orderly fashion. Whether that was by hosting competitions, keeping other members informed, or - even on the most basic level - just being there as an approachable quasi-summit member.
I have gotten to know Tarax since the start of the Crusade a good year and a half ago, and I can honestly say that I am happy to know him, and that I often strive to be the same kind of person he is. Sometimes he'll complain about having to complete so many activities, but at the end of the day, my inbox is filled with emails from everything that he does. But he a standout member, a member you can count on, and a member who will contribute to every aspect of the clan with an honest integrity that many lack. I wish there were more of his kind in Taldryan. It may be a louder place then, and it's possible that it may sometimes give me a headache, but it'll be a place filled with people I can count on to keep Taldryan a healthy and fun environment.
Tarax, never change. You've deserved this award, and I feel that it is overdue.

Tarax...many things can be said for Tarax. But let's keep it at this.
Tarax is a long and hard pillar of Taldryan, perhaps even the Brotherhood as a whole. Tarax is the kind of stand-up man that is not afraid to voice his opinion, he isn't a "yes man" that will just sit back and nod silently. He actively contributes on many levels for Taldryan. To shed a light on what I mean: I struggled with my health for a good month earlier this year, and Tarax (on his own accord) stepped up to keep things in Dinaari going in orderly fashion. Whether that was by hosting competitions, keeping other members informed, or - even on the most basic level - just being there as an approachable quasi-summit member.
I have gotten to know Tarax since the start of the Crusade a good year and a half ago, and I can honestly say that I am happy to know him, and that I often strive to be the same kind of person he is. Sometimes he'll complain about having to complete so many activities, but at the end of the day, my inbox is filled with emails from everything that he does. But he a standout member, a member you can count on, and a member who will contribute to every aspect of the clan with an honest integrity that many lack. I wish there were more of his kind in Taldryan. It may be a louder placer, and it may sometimes give me a headache, but it'll be a place filled with people I can count on to keep Taldryan a healthy and fun environment.
Tarax, never change. You've deserved this award, and I feel that it is overdue.

I have known Tarax for a number of years, and have seen him in different situations. It is astounding how much he has grown over the years, and has truly become an integral part of Taldryan. Since Taldryan has become a Clan Tarax has been at the forefront of both activity and leadership. Although not in a specific role as leader, he has continued to push others to participate and motivate where he could. He is a veteran of the Clan, and acts in a manner befitting that status. His role in creating activity for the entire Clan with his little competitions is a great example of that.

Also, his own personal activity has been great. When called upon he is always there to help out the Clan, and has played important roles in some of the more recent wins that Taldryan has garnered. He is active in all sorts of manner, equal to many in this club, and is a mainstay on IRC. Her personifies this Clan, and we are lucky to have him.

Tarax has been a dedicated and loyal member of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood for as long as I can remember. This dedication is often overlooked, but it should not be. Tarax is a constant force on IRC, a participant in all major events, a leader within his Clan, and one of the most active Dark Brotherhood members in term of news page commentary and visibility.

It is actually mind blowing that Tarax does not have a Sapphire Blade and this award is long overdue. Congrats buddy.

Trying to explain what Tarax means to Clan Taldryan isn't something one can easily do. I'm sure other people will list out the amount of activity Tarax generates for the Clan so that I don't have to. I'm sure other people will try to address just what it is that Tarax brings to us. What it is that he contributes. Some idiots out there might believe that Tarax is nothing more than a troll, that all he does is done to cause chaos and for his enjoyment.

Those people are only 20% right.

What Tarax is, beyond any other measure, is a motivator. His constant needling of the people around him and above him on the chain of command is nothing short of brilliant. He simply recognizes one simple thing: that in this place where we're constantly being told your shortcomings are okay because you're just a volunteer, motivation is key. If we're constantly being held to the standard that mediocrity is okay, we'll never grow. Tarax doesn't accept mediocrity, and he'll never allow us to simply sit on our laurels: he needles us until we grow, until we address our shortcomings, or until we rage-quit.

But that alone? It's not enough to justify the awarding of a Sapphire Blade, well, at least it's not enough to justify it to Tarax himself. Tarax doesn't compromise, which makes him a bit of an outlier in today's Dark Brotherhood, and along with not compromising, Tarax holds himself and others to a higher standard. He views what he does as nothing short of what an average member should do. Tarax doesn't think he's a standard that other people should aspire to, because he doesn't realize that his contributions, and activity, are far above what the average member does. He doesn't realize that, because that's how good he actually is.

The single biggest reason for Tarax to be awarded this Sapphire Blade is his self-sacrifice. Tarax is a servant of the Brotherhood. He serves it without any desire or need for recognition. He's recognized that ultimately, he's probably progressed as far as he'll go. But he still serves. He still constantly asks me for projects for him to work on. He asks me to help out with policy. He acts as a leader of men with no position to "justify" his leadership, because Tarax is a leader.

For the past few months, Tarax has been working on a guide to help new members understand and navigate the DB's Web properties better. He's been building this guide in his spare time, on top of all of his other commitments and activity. He's been building this guide simply because it might help us maintain a more accurate roster, and active membership. Most importantly, he's working on this not because someone asked him to, but because he saw the need and just stepped up to help.

Tarax deserves recognition for all that he does every day, and even more so for believing in his heart that he's not worthy of such recognition.

** thrust **

He is a black sheep, a permanent pariah. He asked no quarter of the bosses and none was given. He learned no lessons; he acknowledged no mistakes; he is as stubborn a Pole as ever stumbled out of Plagueis to take up the banner of Taldryan. He brooked no authority. He did what he wanted to do and he said what he wanted to say, and in the end he gave us the activity.

When thinking about writing this, it occurred to me that Tarax is an odd member. It isn't that he's a terrible human being (and he is), but rather, he exhibits all of the characteristics of a member far, far beyond his rank and positioned experience in the Brotherhood. He is able to advise our newest members on how things work (through his near constant IRC presence), and he offers both broad and specific policy and procedural advice to Adepts and Masters. Specifically, Tarax was an important part of the team that helped write (and proof) Taldryan's clanning document that was submitted and approved in early 2014.

In terms of raw activity - Tarax participated in all three major ACC activities this year (closed and open beta, as well as the Fading Light tournament), earning himself a buttload of Clusters of Ice in the process. He also participated in, was on the winning team (earning a Gold Nova), and was the MVP for the Fading Light run on. With that last distinction, Tarax earned himself the Sith Sword named Revelation. Finally, Tarax ran three clan wide competitions for Taldryan, driving further activity for our clan.

For his long serviced to Clan Taldryan and the Dark Brotherhood, Tarax should be awarded a Sapphire Blade. Congratulations!

To most throughout the Brotherhood, Tarax seems just a troll. For that matter, when I first returned to the Brotherhood, I thought this as well. But this last year working with Tarax has completely changed my mind. Tarax has shown himself to be among the most active members of Taldryan, and while his propensity to speak his mind and do as he wishes may not always earn him friends outside the Clan, he has earned my respect for his dedication to the Clan.

Tarax's accomplishments since the end of the "main phase" of the Crusades are many. To name just a few: he was on the recent winning team for the Fading Light Run-On and was the team MVP, he was a main writer in Taldryan's clanning document, he has maintained consistent activity in Brotherhood-wide events in the ACC(betas, and Fading Light), and he has participated in many Clan competitions. Tarax has always been an active participant at all levels of the Clan and House. Recently, though, Tarax has done more, and gone further. Seeing that both Kaz and I were otherwise occupied, both with illness and other commitments, Tarax offered to run several Clan competitions. During this period, Tarax continued to participate in competitions and assist in other ways as well, including constant communication to members through his presence on IRC and over email. It is not just that Tarax is a novae-winning member; it is also that he is committed and dedicated to seeing his House and Clan succeed any way he can.

Congratulations, Tarax! Now go name this one, too.

I am honoured to be recommending Nadrin for this Sapphire Blade. His hard work and dedication to Clan Arcona and House Galeres has been exceptional. He has been a strong and solid foundation inside of House Galeres, leading Soulfire Strike Team through the Dark Crusade and stepping up to the plate when it was needed once again.

During the entire Crusade, Nadrin has served as a Field General. This role was all about helping the clan, though his job was to continue to participate in as many competitions as possible. He also gave hours of time to the clan. His duties involved and not to list some of them, constant membership contact, proofreading, motivational emails, leading run-on teams. During the entire crusade, he gave up countless hours to make sure that any question partaking the event was answered. I witnessed him leading from the front lines during this time. He constantly made sure that those members not inside the special forces performed to the best of their duties. What impact did this have? Well, we had the most actual entries per planet, regardless of ratio. Could this be achieved without the field generals? I don’t think so, after watching the work that Nadrin did. One of the key things that improves the clans performance during any event, he probably checked over hundreds of pages in total, considering he was in charge of members that were not part of the ‘Special Forces’ teams. He has made sure that the Crusade was fun not only for the members of Arcona. But at the same time hugely successful for Arcona and a successful participation for this Brotherhood event. This club often has productive, dedicated and devoted members, yet it is safe to say Nadrin is one of those and more, a leader inside of Arcona. Being both Consul threw to Battle Team Leader.

Since taking on the mantle of Quaestor, I have seen myself needing a Battle Team Leader of Soulfire Strike Team. Though Nadrin has the right to just sit back and enjoy himself, he stepped up when I needed a new Battle Team Leader. What do I mean step up? He brought a new era to Soulfire Strike Team. He invited in any member who wanted to help/be a part of the team without judgement of their past. He has continued to keep a constant drive, motivation and for any task, this was including leading threw the Dark Crusade. Taking Soulfire into Operation Sojourn to see his whole team achieved third place overall. A great feat as he continues to strive to improve, from giving medals out to seeing his members rewarded. He doesn't do anything for personal gain, and makes sure everything he does directly benefits his members, something to be proud of anyone inside of Leadership.

Nadrin has been a stable and devoted member of Arcona, taking time to do work and push himself . He has managed to rack up an impressive amount of merit medals these include three Grand Crosses and two Anteian Crosses. As impressive as that is, it still hasn't stopped him continue to wrack up a huge amount of medals, this has been every time including one-hundred and fifteen Clusters of Fire and a Pendant of Blood for his effort in gaming, and ten Clusters of Ice for his work in run-ons as well as the Antei Combat Centre. His drive during Vendettas has brought in a total of nineteen Seals through different events, and he has earned Scrolls for Indoctrination and Foundation for his work in mentoring and teaching others inside of the Brotherhood.

Congratulations on this Sapphire Blade, Nadrin. You have been an awesome member of House Galeres and served Clan Arcona through and through. I am honoured to have you work beside me as one of my Battleteam Leaders, I look forward to seeing what you do in the future.

Quaestor of House Galeres

Nadrin is the rare member who always gets the job done, no matter what the job is, and adapts to every challenging situation in which he finds himself. He’s been doing it for as long as I’ve been here, and I cannot recall a single moment where he let down his friends and fellow Arconans. He did as Consul, he did it in Great Jedi Wars, he did it in the Dark Crusade, and he’s currently doing it as Battleteam Leader of Soulfire.

Beyond the intangible quality of being present when he’s needed (which is often), Nadrin also serves as a friendly and accessible former Consul and Arconae. Those latter two titles are important, because they go beyond the mere allure of a veteran member or an Equite for Arcona’s numerous Journeymen. In an organization founded upon promotions and awards, seeing someone who has been to the mountaintop, and yet manages to be so helpful and welcoming to even the newest Apprentice, is inspirational even for those of us who have been here for years.

While I could go on, I have to accept that my fellow recommenders have covered the depth of Nadrin’s significance both to Arcona and to the Brotherhood. To me, Nadrin is one of the quintessentially Arconan Arconans, and one of the gentlemen most responsible for the success of the Clan in my six years here. He deserves every bit of this Sapphire Blade, and I hope that it encourages him to continue being a friend, a leader, and an inspiration.

Proconsul of Clan Arcona

The Sapphire Blade is awarded to a member who has shown consistent and long-term service to their Unit or Brotherhood position. Such services however cannot be seen until taken on a whole, each individual part seen as one. The Sapphire Blade can also be rewarded for extraordinary amounts of activity in a large-scale competition such as the Great Jedi War, where the very best are rewarded for their efforts.

The Dark Crusades supply us with a perhaps a unique venue for the awarding of the Sapphire Blade, because during the course of the Vendetta both of the criteria for awarding it can be realized. When it comes to consistent effort and dedication, very few people in the Dark Brotherhood can compete with Chaosrain Taldrya. His performance in the final round of the Dark Crusades helped propel Taldryan to victory on Dromund Kaas, and was fully indicative of his overall performance throughout the Crusades. There is little doubt in my mind that Chaos’ continued efforts was one of the keys to Taldryan placing third in the Vendetta.

His personal performance marks Chaos as one of the premiere performers in the Dark Brotherhood, placing in the 95th percentile of activity, his extraordinary amount of activity ensuring that he would participate in more events than all but 13 members in the entire club. On top of all that, Chaosrain Taldrya showed that he was also to be reckoned with as one of the most skilled members in the Brotherhood, earning a total of 8 Nova, which ranks him in the 90th percentile of all participating members, outperforming all but 19 members in the club.

Chaos’ performance in the Crusades was amazing, as was he. But his contributions to the Dark Crusades are possibly only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to quantifying his contributions to Taldryan over the past 6 months that I have been Aedile. There are very few people who are quite as willing to take up extra work that I have for them, and even fewer that only complain a little when I just drop projects on them. Chaosrain Taldrya is one of the few that fits both categories. I’ve always got a few projects or side projects going on, whether it be planning Taldryan’s fictional future, or working with Taldryan’s wikipedia articles, Chaos is one of the first to help me out. Though his name doesn’t get plastered on the articles or entries themselves, Chaos is one of my most trusted sounding boards. When I need a second set of eyes, or research done on a subject, Chaos is always willing to put in the extra effort to make sure I can get the projects I start finished. His fingerprints aren’t always the most visible, but there is not a single project that I have started or completed in my time as Aedile that Chaos has not significantly helped bring to completion.

As such, I am proud to recommend that he be rewarded for his efforts with a Sapphire Blade.

Dark Jedi Master Keirdagh Taldrya Cantor, Aedile and Loyal Son of Taldryan.

The Sapphire Blade is awarded to a member who has shown consistent and long-term service to their Unit or Brotherhood position. Such services however cannot be seen until taken on a whole, each individual part seen as one. The Sapphire Blade can also be rewarded for extraordinary amounts of activity in a large-scale competition such as the Great Jedi War, where the very best are rewarded for their efforts.

Kazmir has been one of the best assets that Taldryan has had during the Dark Crusades. His efforts on behalf of his unit place him in the strata of a top level performer in the Dark Brotherhood. Kazmir’s participation rating saw him place in the 88th percentile of Dark Brotherhood members, taking part in more events than all but 27 members of the club. In terms of skill, Kazmir ranks in the 84th percentile, outperforming all but 33 members of the Club. Given that he is only a Sith Battlemaster, Kazmir’s performance belies his rank, showing him to be a more consistent and skilled performer than a huge section of the Dark Brotherhood.

His efforts in the last round of the Dark Crusades are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Kazmir’s participation. Finishing it off with a perfect performance score, and helping Taldryan toward it’s domination of the Special Forces ranks on Dromund Kaas is valuable in and of itself, but what stands out in my mind, is how much work Kazmir does outside of what one would call his regular duties for Taldryan.

Kazmir’s desire to constantly be inundated with more activities means that he has become one of my most valuable workers. His efforts have led him to be one of the point men on reworking Taldryan’s core of NPCs, a long standing project run by me. His efforts have also yielded results in the reworking on Taldryan’s Army, and work on the Planetary dominion project. Beyond anything, Kazmir’s dedication to helping Taldryan in any way possible, and the constant amounts of work he does for us is worthy of recognition.

So, with all of that in mind, I heartily recommend that Sith Battlemaster Kazmir Natas be awarded a Sapphire Blade.

Dark Jedi Master Keirdagh Taldrya Cantor, Aedile and Loyal Son of Taldryan.

The Sapphire Blade is awarded to a member who has shown consistent and long-term service to their Unit or Brotherhood position. Such services however cannot be seen until taken on a whole, each individual part seen as one. The Sapphire Blade can also be rewarded for extraordinary amounts of activity in a large-scale competition such as the Great Jedi War, where the very best are rewarded for their efforts.

When it comes down to it, there is very little that you can say about Jac Cotelin that has not been said before. I’m no longer even convinced that he’s a man at all, but maybe some weird cyborg who George Lucas’ descendants sent back in time in order to just be the most awesome collection of atoms that exists in the realms of Star Wars fanclubs.

Jac is quite simply the best, and most skilled member that the Dark Brotherhood has ever known.

During the Dark Crusades, Jac’s work speaks for itself. In the earliest rounds, Jac was a machine, helping Taldryan through activity, advice, and sheer bad assery. When the Special Forces rounds came to town, Jac was a constant presence on Taldryan’s A-Team, participating as a captain in every round.

He participated in 29 of 31 available events, including a perfect participation ratio in the final round. But in order to recognize the scope of Jac’s efforts, you need to recognize just how far above the rest of the Dark Brotherhood he really was. Jac’s activity landed him in the 95th percentile of all Brotherhood members, participating in more events than all but 13 other members in the Dark Brotherhood. On top of that, when it comes to the sheer level of his skill, Jac placed in a staggering 72% of the events he entered, and in doing so holds the solitary honour of having out-performed every single member in the Dark Brotherhood, bar none.

The Sapphire Blade is awarded for many smaller contributions over the long term, or for extraordinary amounts of activity during a Vendetta. Jac qualifies for both. In recognition of his titanic performance in the Dark Crusades, I heartily recommend that Grand Master Jac Cotelin be awarded a Sapphire Blade.

Dark Jedi Master Keirdagh Taldrya Cantor, Aedile and Loyal Son of Taldryan.

The Sapphire Blade is awarded to a member who has shown consistent and long-term service to their Unit or Brotherhood position. Such services however cannot be seen until taken on a whole, each individual part seen as one. The Sapphire Blade can also be rewarded for extraordinary amounts of activity in a large-scale competition such as the Great Jedi War, where the very best are rewarded for their efforts.

Howlader’s performance in the Dark Crusades marks him as one of the most talented and dedicated members in the Dark Brotherhood. When it comes to participation, not a single member in the entire Dark Brotherhood participated in more events than he did, a few did as many, but not one did more… because Howlader participated in every. single. event. During the span of the Crusades, 243 members of the Brotherhood participated in at least one event. Howlader participated in 31. Not only that, but his total medal tally marked him as one of the truly elite members in skill measurements as well, finding himself in the 96th percentile of Nova earned, and was only matched or tied by 10 members in the Dark Brotherhood.

Beyond his own personal efforts on behalf of Taldryan, including a once again perfect performance in the final round, Howlader was the engine room of Taldryan. His omnipresence on IRC allowed Howlader to be the single most influential person in Taldryan at driving activity.

Since the Crusades have concluded, Howlader has been instrumental to me by completing a significant number of assignments, helping to collate and combine data sets from around the DB, and being an otherwise invaluable resource to his summit. For all these reasons and more, I heartily endorse Dark Jedi Master Howlader for receipt of a Sapphire Blade.

Dark Jedi Master Keirdagh Taldrya Cantor, Aedile and Loyal Son of Taldryan.

I always say, and truly respect those that fall into this, that a leader is someone who fights from the front-lines. For people to respect you and follow you, they need to know that you will lead the charge, you will be there beside them, and most of all you won't stop being there if the line is broken. Anshar has done this time and time again for Tarentum. He has came back to the front anytime the shit gets heavy. and he's there at the drop of a hat. He has sacrificed his own personal goals, I will always remember the time he resigned as Headmaster for our sorry lot, and constantly put Tarentum ahead of himself. And it doesn't seem to matter what is going on in his own personal life at the time either, come hell or even a mid-Crusade move; he'll be there and he will be out front. It's getting to the point where its only a matter of time before we change our name to House Anshar. This past year has been no different. When Tarentum started the Dark Crusades, Anshar held Quaestor at that time and had the terrible burden of trying to motivate our sorry lot to action. And while, unfortunately, Tarentum was slow to the occasion; Anshar didn't let it slow him down. For the first three chapters of the Crusades, Anshar led the house in each chapter as highest participant with little contest. Things seemed to change for the House in the second phase, with more and more members waking up - many at the plea of Anshar whom wasn't even Quaestor anymore but still remained a key leader of Tarentum. This is the kinda of thing I have always admired of Anshar and tried to follow; remaining an influential leader even after giving up the position. However, Anshar never let up on being the highest participant; the house just tried keeping up with him. This as even evident in the brief Crusade break for the Independence Games this year where Anshar once again lead the house in participation, and also in competition won and earning himself the title of one of the IG Champions.

Participation aside, Anshar's guidance and leadership has always been one of our saving graces. First leading the House as a whole as Quaestor and then concluding the Crusades as BTL of Jen Kaari; Anshar has been in a leadership position for the majority of the Crusades. Through these positions he has inspired others to participant and better themselves, help guide people through events and challenges, and even served as a much appreciated voice on the Tarentum Summit helping Scion and myself make Tarentum a better place. And yet, considering all this his support never slumped even when the closing date for his home was moved up and he and his wife moved to their new home in the middle of the last round.

I can't even imagine what Tarentum would look like today if it hadn't been for Anshar, and this past year has further solidified his place as one of Tarentum's greats. In recognition of all he has done, from being Quaestor for Tarentum's start in the crusades and BTL at the end, being our highest participant in both Crusades and IGs, being an inspiration for all of Tarentum, and of course his constant humility (If for no other reason than he said he didn't want any awards); I believe Anshar deserves to be recognized for all this effort with a Sapphire Blade.