Drac is one of this club's most dedicated and reliable leaders. He is always willing to step up and do what needs to be done, even when he'd really rather not have to. Most recently, he stepped up to lead Vizsla in the aftermath of a tragedy that impacted all of us but hit Drac in an acutely personal way. He didn't have to agree to take on VizCON for a second time, but I knew he would before I even asked.

He's worked hard to keep the clan active and motivated while also planning for a quick succession, and he's accomplished his mission. I can't ask for more. Thank you, Drac, and congrats on just one more ED.

Drac has quickly become an extremely trusted advisor for me within the Chamber and lived up to my expectations - specifically, an individual who can be a succinct assessment of a situation.

As such, the phrase "this is nothingcakes" has become a staple within the Chamber as of late. Which should not be seen as being dismissive but rather the conclusion of an individual who researches situations deeply, listens to the perspectives of his peers within the Chamber, and then draws an informed conclusion.

Thankfully, the Chamber has not had any cases come to trial. However, Drac has been kept busy while the chamber has investigated several potential AI utilization situations. One of which led to the publication made by the Chamber helping inform members on AI utilization in fiction.

Further, Drac helped investigate a potential use of AI in a graphic submission which, thankfully, was just a situation of the wrong file being uploaded.

But, most importantly, Drac caught another attempt of a banned member attempting to rejoin the Brotherhood which was resolved quickly.

Drac has exceeded my expectations and I have enjoyed getting to know him better and, despite what this recommendation may be, a little bit better on how to be succinct.

I am glad to be able to recognize Mako for his exceptional service as both Praetor and Magistrate to the Fist. Over the course of his term, Mako demonstrated not only diligence and consistency, but also a commitment to innovation and improving our systems.

Among his accomplishments:

Council Guardsman Accessories Page Revision: Mako overhauled the Council Guardsman Accessories wiki page, including its formatting, updating images, and completing the “awarded to” sections by researching and adding missing dossiers. This update brought a longstanding page up to current standards and made it more useful for members across the club.

Cluster Review Times & Awards Tracker: He created a fully functional tracker for the Cluster Review Times and Awards project. This tool allows staff to log review times and automatically calculate estimated cluster values. It has become a vital reference and resource for internal accountability and award accuracy. Mako also went the extra mile by personally compiling and submitting a significant number of entries.

Approvals: Over his term, he handled a staggering 747 activity approvals—a volume that speaks for itself.

Beyond the numbers, Mako was an essential partner in running the office. He consistently acted as my right hand, helping monitor magistrate activity and pushing key initiatives forward. He was an advocate for improvements and never hesitated to take on additional responsibility or speak up when something needed to change.

Mako’s work has left the Fist office in a better place than he found it, and I can’t think of anyone more deserving of recognition for it.

I am not well known as someone who is particularly wordy when it comes to award recommendations. Just like Joe Friday, it's normally "just the facts."

In this case, this award is personal. And to that end, I have the potential to write a lot more than normal. So please bear with me.

Mako Henemory is more than deserving of this award. Mako stepped in during Sarin's illness and kept Clan Vizsla going. He didn't ask any questions; he just did the job. Mako led and organized Great Hunt IX, consisting of 11 competitions that he had to grade single-handedly. And since his last award just seven months ago, he has organized over 40 competitions, both for Vizsla and the entire club. He has participated in over 120 events himself, showing that leading is not just about providing, it's about setting the right example.

Most importantly, Mako acted as Consul while Matt was unable to due to his illness. He asked for no special recognition; he just wanted to keep Vizsla going. He provided fiction updates, reports, managed the long list of tasks that Matt had given him, and engaged with members both in and out of the Clan regularly. And when the time came to bring a new Consul in, Mako was there, providing a quick rundown of what the clan was doing and where we needed to focus.

Without Mako, I'd have been more lost than I already am.

When Mako told me he wanted to step away as PCON, I knew that there was nothing I could do or give to him that would be reflective of what he did for Matt, what he did for Vizsla, and what he did for me. I am forever grateful.

And so, it is my absolute privilege to recommend Mako Henemory Ad Vizsla for his first Emerald Dagger.

Congratulations, Mako. And thank you.

Teebs joined the Herald staff only recently but he did so by hitting the ground running. He created 5 warbanners in quick succession, helping clear out the Trello requests. He is an outstanding team player, super helpful. Case in point, he was willing to redo one of the above warbanners after we updated the template. He regularly participates in Herald discussions. He was also the one who pointed out the missing elements from the Warbanner template, which led to a larger overhaul of the file.

We’re lucky to you, Teebs! I was certain you’d be a great addition to the staff and you did disappoint! Congratulations on your new award!

It was an incredibly fun ride, those months serving as your PCON Teebs! I learned new things in how to effectively entangle a storyline into activities to a higher degree than I had thought possible. Quite a ride we had…

… Or so I thought. Then you kept working as part of the story group. Not even hesitating in your drive to bring enjoyment to the Clan and beyond. You also introduced me into this tight knit family unit I’ve been blessed to become a part of as well.

I’ll keep this short and let the others do the talking in this one… for once… Enjoy the award, you’ve more than earned it!

Since becoming Proconsul and throughout his term as Consul, Teebu was synonymous with Taldryan for me. Whenever I looked at the chat? Teebu. Was there a competition going on for them? Teebu. Roleplays? Teebu!

The dedication and presence he offered within his role is beyond argument, and that's the kind of thing I love to see. He embodied leading from the front and his clan only benefitted from the experience. There's really nothing else I could ask for in a Consul and I'm so glad to thank Teebu for his efforts.

Teebu is a veteran of the Regent’s staff. He’s been forged in the fires of Gsheets and hardened in the bloody fields of the Remand Template. Teebu has proven to be an integral part of our staff and his recognition for his contributions are well overdue.

I’m going to start with the little things Teebs does. The Regent’s staff requires a huge amount of research. Although not everything we research sees the light of day, we still spend hours digging through sourcebooks and wookieepedia. For the Lifeday III event alone, Teebu fleshed out 8 prototypes, with descriptions, pricing and more. He has also contributed to other booster releases with a similar value of prototypes.

But the research doesn’t just stop with new prototypes. Teebu completed a comprehensive review of all Member and Clan vessels, providing system appropriate and canon relevant numbers of passengers as part of our Starship Review. He also included in that review the items that could be expanded into Clan Purchasable items. That is a hand review of over 90 prototypes, in which he completed the research with applicable resources.

The Regent’s staff also operates on a tenant of continuous improvement. To help us get better, and help our system be better, Teebu has completed multiple quality of life updates. One major update that Teebu completed was single-handedly tackling the reformatting and release of the new Starfighter slotting on all Capital ships. He updated more than 55 prototypes, and created the new Hangar upgrades for member corvettes and the reworked upgrade for Clan items. Beyond this Teebu has contributed to a countless number of little updates across a vast array of prototypes. From fixing stocking rules, updating formatting, correcting spelling and grammar.

Teebu is also involved in our various conversations. At one point this month, the Regent’s staff was conducting 3 separate threads for various items we are planning. His contributions on this front are not unnoticed and help us all get together on the same page.

The last thing I am going to talk about is the big one. Crafting. The scope of this project is absolutely monumental. I have been personally working on this project for over 2 years. To be honest, I was starting to get fatigued with it. I couldn’t carry on. I was feeling a bit like Frodo carrying the One Ring to Mount Doom, the burden was getting to heavy to bear. At that moment, Teebu pulled a Samwise Gamgee. He has scooped up the project and carried it on. I cannot understate how vital this was. Teebu has stepped up on this project in a major way and has helped breathe continued life into it.

Not only has he stepped up, he has absolute gone bananarama on it. Since his last medal he has worked through 4 key Item types, developing crafting materials, writing crafting recipes, and price matching. Each of these key item types is different and require unique attention. He was over the 4 item types, this totals to over 601 descriptions and Recipes, 103 unique crafting materials and pricing balancing (THE SINGLE MOST DIFFICULT PART) for all of those items, landing within a single digit % margin of error. AND he set the aspects for all of those prototypes. To add to this, one of the item types Teebu needed to re-work entirely. He tore it down to nuts and bolts and put it back together. All with a smile on his face.

The work he has done on this has moved the progress bar so far along on this project I can’t even put a real value to it. It’s absolutely invaluable how much his contribution has impacted the progress of this project.

I am so proud of how he has stepped up to help in this department. We desperately needed the help and he was there to take it on. This project is HUGE and It simply could not get done if it weren’t for Teebu’s contributions.

Congratulations Teebu, you have more than earned this award!

Alaris Jinn: The Person, The Myth, The Legend. Has it really been as long as it has since we threw something at Alaris? It has, because we wanted to get them something that they didn't have already. Since their last recognition, it would be an understatement to quantify what all they've done in the Brotherhood and for Clan Plagueis. I'm going to do what I can, however, to go into details on that second part. I'll leave the other stuff for the Councilors he's served.

First, to break down the numbers: Since their last recognition, Alaris has participated in 262 competitions. For those entries, they've earned 8 Gold, 4 Silver, and 1 Bronze novae (Keep those in mind, we'll come back to that), as well as 14 Diamond, 40 Ruby, 34 Amethyst, 21 Sapphire, 21 Emerald, 4 Topaz, and 7 Quartz crescents. That's a placement every 58.8% of the time when they enter something. They've earned 2451 Clusters of Fire (151 gaming activities), 32 Clusters of Ice (1934 ACC words, 4427 Fiction words, and 3488 Roleplaying words), and 51 Clusters of Graphite. Their SA service netted 15 Scrolls of Foundation (the meat of which I'm sure the academic types will go into), with 23 courses passed, 7 degrees earned, and 65 courses graded. Alaris earned 1 Seal of Loyalty and 28 Seals of Transcendence (file those with the Novae, we'll come back to that). They were able to rank up 18 times in various DB societies: 1 in the SA, 2 in the Shroud, 1 in the ACC as a participant, 12 in the ACC as a judge,and 2 in the Envoy Corps. On a counting stats level, Alaris has been a stand out.

Beyond those counting stats, however, lies what Alaris really brings to the table. They are a quintessential example of one of the things I have always held in my heart in the DB: Leadership doesn't require a job title. In the time since their last medal in August of 2023, Alaris has never held an official position on the Plagueis Summit. Not even for a second. That has not stopped them from being a serious contributor to the Clan, both behind the scenes and in the brightest spotlight. In the background, Alaris is the most vocal of the Consuls Emeritus that are welcomed into the Summit discussions to offer perspective and insight. They have helped guide and advise all of us on the Plagueis summit in various ways, large and small. Alaris has consulted with and produced Clan fiction updates that have driven Plagueis Lore forward. Most importantly, however, Alaris has absolutely killed it when the Clan needed them to step forward at the times where it matters the most: Vendetta time. I think, because we didn't write up an award for Alaris immediately following the last Great Jedi War, it is lost on most just how incredible their performance was. They did "All The Things", of course. But that isn't even half of the story. Alaris took home the title of First Hero of the Sixteenth Great Jedi War with what is hands down the most dominant performance by a First Hero on record. Alaris's score of 702 points was by far the largest margin of victory the Brotherhood has ever seen, and not just on sheer points scored as that number can fluctuate with scoring systems. That 702 points was 45% again more points than the second place finisher scored. The point gap Alaris managed between first place and second place was more than the point gap between second and tenth. And it would be a disservice to characterize their work during the War as merely serving themselves, as much of their work came from helming team entry events (The RO, multimedia, and dossier events spring to mind as examples). Their efforts also included helping other members excel in other individual gaming events, such as the TOR conquest event. It wasn't enough for Alaris to just pile up a giant personal score, they wanted to make sure everyone else possible was coming along for the ride. I've seen a lot of Great Jedi War performances over the years, and this was hands down the best of them all. Not for the points that Alaris scored for themselves, but for the work that they did helping the Clan perform to its absolute best as a whole. Alaris has continued to bring that level of commitment and work ethic, often in the background and without fanfare or title, to their work for Clan Plagueis in the time since. It would not be an understatement to say that we would not be where we are today as a Clan without their tireless work.

There are few medal recommendations that I have written where I feel that the member being put forward for the award is more deserving. Alaris has continued to be a member that few others can match, bringing a drive for excellence and a lead from the front mentality that at times I myself envy. It is with a hearty congratulations that I offer my recommendation to support this award.

Stepping into a position like Headmaster is never an easy thing, but my ascension into this role was made so much easier by Alaris Jinn. I've worked with Alaris before as my Proconsul, so knowing that they would be my Praetor made my life so much easier. We were able to work well together from the get go, and with their help we quickly had a new course out to the membership. Not only did Alaris do the legwork of getting the "Weaponry" course ready to submit to the site, they walked me through the process so that I would be able to do it on my own in the future.

Alaris was also pivotal in helping me decide, 1). How I wanted to distribute duties to my Magistrates, 2). Who I wanted to hire for the jobs, and 3). How I wanted to structure the upcoming new additional to the Shadow Academy moving forward. While I had my own ideas on the topic, they really helped challenge me and ensure I was on a stable footing.

Alaris is a treasure to have on any staff, and I look forward to seeing what they are able to achieve in their future roles within this club. Thank you Alaris, for everything. You really deserve this award, and so much more.

Alaris walked into an unexpectedly challenging situation as P:HM. Bubba and I had just made the largest change to the HM office's scope and mission in at least a decade, and I had laid out a plan for course revisions that, even at the time, I knew was likely more ambitious than feasible. Meanwhile, my personal live devolved into a unending succession of dying pets and relatives, health issues, RL job chaos, and caring for a premature newborn. While we kept the office running well enough that regular members likely never noticed, it should be noted that Alaris never received the level of support, training, and mentorship from me that they deserved as Praetor. Nevertheless, they stepped up, managing recurring tasks like the SA Decathlon competition series, leading the staff, most of whom were hired shortly after they were, pitching in on grading, and just generally providing a stabilizing presence.

In the course of their duties, Alaris oversaw the automation of the Department of Legends. This involved reviewing and rewriting the exams for 14 courses to eliminate the need for manual grading as well as the wait for course credit when a member completes the exam. While they were at it, Alaris did an audit of the course notes to ensure they were accurate. Additionally, they wrote the working draft for Societies: Envoy Corps and functionally served as co-author for the finished course notes.

Ultimately, from the job posting onward, I laid out one duty above all others for the P:HM: ensure that my successor would enjoy a smooth and successful transition into the role, whether my Praetor got to be that person or, especially, if they did not. I'll leave it to Rhylance to cover the particulars, but suffice it to say, within days of the handoff, Rhylance and Alaris worked together to get their first course out the door.

Alaris, I appreciate your service on the HM staff for the past year, both under me and under Rhylance. Congratulations and thank you!

Alethia Archenksova
Headmistress Emerita

In the 5 months since earning herself a Ruby Scepter, Alaisy has not flagged in her dedication to being one of the most epic and active members in Taldryan. While organizing 84 competitions and serving as co-organizer for 4 more, she managed to participate in over 500 competitions. Earning herself 13 Novae (6 Gold, 4 Silver, & 3 Bronze), as well as a truly impressive 296 Crescents (51 Diamond, 111 Ruby, 58 Amethyst, 41 Sapphire, 19 Emerald, 12 Topaz, & 4 Quartz). In writing, Alaisy didn’t sit still either. She has written over 32.000 words in the last 5 months. She participated in 3 ACC matches, writing over 7.000 words doing so and served as a Judge in a further 3 matches. Alaisy participated in 13 Fiction events, writing almost 10.000 words. In the field of Roleplaying, she participated in 10 RP Sessions, contributing over 11.000 words as well as organizing her own RP adventure, for which she wrote almost 4.000 words. All this writing earned her 65 Clusters of Ice. Additionally, through participation in 7 Gaming events, she earned 7 Clusters of Fire. In the Shadow Academy, Alaisy passed one course and attained one new degree. She also managed to elevate her rank across the various societies a grand total of 15 times.

However, it is in her artwork that Alaisy has been thriving. Spread out across 66 GFX Competitions, she managed to gather up an astonishing 262 Clusters of Graphite.

Alaisy is a constant source of activity within the Clan. Organise a competition, you’re bound to find her name in the list of participants. On the social side of things, she’s a constant presence on Discord. Always pitching in with comments and advice. Always ready to share a funny picture or meme she found or made. Every day, you get a kind good morning from Alaisy as you’re sipping your first cup of the day.

Alaisy, thank you for all you do for Taldryan on a daily basis. It is not going unnoticed! I’m very proud to be part of awarding you your first Emerald Dagger. Enjoy it and keep up the great work!

Awards are an incredible part of the Dark Brotherhood, but awards like this are even better. Eminent Ikarri Itinen is a foundational member of Clan Vizsla. His name sits beside our Clan's greats and even though he was not one of our original founders, he has earned (time and time again) his place in the pantheon of Vizsla's best. Bubba has laid out the statistical accomplishments of Ikarri's DJB career over the past several years, but his individual accomplishments do not tell the whole story. For everyone one of those competitions, gaming events, or activities he has participated in, he has often done it with other members of our club. Creating a community, being a Leader always willing to lend a hand (or help someone game), and always being available to support someone else's competition is what makes Ikarri special.

I can't thank him enough for the work he has done in Vizsla or in the Dark Brotherhood. He is a shining example of what a member and leader should look like. Congrats on the shiny and pointy green stick!

Ikarri stepped up from PCON to CON after Socks' unexpected resignation. He's done a great job so far, quickly finding his feet and ensuring that Viszla has plenty of opportunity for activity while also keeping up a massive amount of personal activity. Well done!

Slags has somehow managed to keep up a high level of personal activity while successfully holding down demanding jobs on the DC and as a CON for most of the last seven years. He is without a doubt our most reliable and experienced CON, and his work organizing his fellow CONs for truly DB-wide Pro Bowls is a testament to his continuing enthusiasm for this club, his desire to provide members with fun and rewarding activities, and his mentorship of his fellow CONs.

Congrats on the ED!

Well, well, well. It looks like it’s finally my turn!

Now, what can I say about Slagar that hasn’t been said a thousand times before? Probably not a whole lot, but I’ll certainly give it a try. Slags is the type of leader who just doesn’t rest, like ever. One month, there has been one single month since I’ve been a member of the club that Slager wasn’t either a Consul or a Counselor, that’s over 7 years! You would actually have to go back nearly 10 years to see Slags take a sizable break from leadership, and even then sizable is a relative term here. When I first joined the DB, like many others, I was nervous and a bit unsure of myself and my place in this club. After barely being here for a few months, Slags took a risk in offering me a place on the Clan Plagueis summit. Granted, it was just as a Battleteam leader, but he saw something in this lowly Journeyman with an oversized hat and encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. But that’s what Slagar does, he sees the potential in members and offers them opportunities to learn and grow, to try new things and get hands-on experience. Being a long time member of the clan summit and repeat consul, Slag has a LOT of experience, some things have worked, others not so much, but he is always willing to share what he’s learnt from those experiences and mentor the next generation of leaders within the club.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Slags for a long time now and I’ve seen firsthand how much he cares about this club, he’s always willing to step up and help out or take a step back and let others run with an idea and take all the glory offering advice along the way even if he knows it may not work out. In the end, that’s because Slags has a driving goal to improve the member experience. Whether that’s through training new leaders, looking at how processes can be improved, getting members to be active and engaged or bringing everyone in the club together for a massive event like the Pro Bowl. One thing that’s always stuck out to me about Slags is his passion for awarding members, he is always watching what the members of the clan are doing, seeing how they can be awarded for their activity and pushing for a quick turn around on awards in order to keep the hype train rolling and making sure that members know that we see what they are doing and appreciate their hard work. And that is evident in every single rec he writes. Seriously, go read them, I’ll wait. Slagar has a way with words when it comes to the recs he writes. Sure there’s the usual gushing over hard numbers and site tracked info, but every rec he writes, no matter how small or large the award or promotion is, feels personal to the member, making it feel like the special event that it deserves to be. Slags has written a few recs for me, and every single one of them has brought a smile to my face. Well, I am very proud to be able to flip the tables on you for once, but for some reason the smile is still plastered across my face. I wanted to talk more about how you’re an incredible leader, mentor and friend, but I’ve rambled on for long enough so I’ll have to save that for the inevitable next time.

Congratulations on a well deserved Emerald Dagger, now please don’t use it on a very loyal hat!