Ladies, gentlemen and Timmy,

After innumerable tries to create an exceedingly witty opening line, my present lack of sleep and creativity has just made me give up entirely. So, without a bunch of confusing sentences containing veritable heaps of adjectives, you'll have to make do with the plain and simple announcement: this will be my last e-mail as Consul of this great Clan.

Don't get me wrong, I've had a whale of a time in the nine months I've been at the helm, but the job can also be quite stressful and demanding - and with the GJW coming up, and university starting again after that, I decided to change my DB priorities for a while.

Normally, of course, you'd expect a gushy display of sentimentalism, and more thanks given out than at an Oscar acceptance speech, but I simply refuse. Not because I hate you all and think you're not deserving of my thanks - believe me, you are - ... but because I'm not completely retiring. What's more, I'll even stay in the Clan Summit... indeed, yours truly is the "new" Proconsul. Thanks to having an excellent Summit team to talk things through with, we've decided that I'll take a more supporting role in the Clan Summit - taking a step back from the spotlights, as it were - and combining that with just being a kick-ass member again.

Yes, my time as Consul has been far from a flawless one. I've made some decisions I shouldn't have, and at times I watched from the sideline when I should have acted. I'm sorry to say I've broken my word a few times, took far too long to do relatively simple tasks, and my communication hasn't always been good. Indeed, in no small part I'm leaving because every day I stay on longer will end up hurting the Clan, and myself. It really is time to take a step back.

But have I failed as Consul? Of course, that's for history to decide, but I can honestly say I don't consider my tenure a failure. Certainly, I've learned - how to do certain things properly, and how not to handle other stuff. There were rough patches, but a lot of high points as well. I'll always remember leading us to that memorable, crushing 8-0 victory over CSP in the Vengeance Feud, and I won't forget some of our successes in the RoS, despite setbacks and points systems. It may be a misperception on my side, but this experience has given me a better idea of what a complete leader ought to be like. And now it's up to me to use that information in my new job.

However, let's not dwell on the pessimistic for so long. We've still got a fantastic Clan here, at least as good as when I started. We've got fabulous members, two great Quaestors, two very good Aediles, a spectacular new Consul, and a weird Dutch guy with loads of experience as Proconsul. Honestly, I think we're gonna have another great time.

As this is my last "report", so to speak, I'd just like to congratulate once again all our recently elevated and awarded members - KE Tim, OP Mali, DJKs JScumm, Rho, Debric and Orv, Juda with his new SC, and a host of others. Every one of you, even the people I haven't mentioned, are making the Clan, and hopefully yourselves, proud. There's also a bit of genuine news, in that we're going to ally ourselves with Clan Tarentum. You may have noticed it on the news page, but that's only a prelude to the actual document, which you can expect very soon. And lastly, there's a great new Clan competition starting tomorrow, and Timmy will be releasing new and exciting details for that one soon.

Now, all that remains for me is to extend my huge and heartfelt thanks to every Arconan, for putting up with me for so long - and in some cases making my life exceedingly hard, but that's part of the game. And although I'm doing a step back now, leaving the spotlights a bit, I'll still play the game as best I can. Spare me a round of applause if you can, give a warm welcome to our new Consul, Timeros Caesus Entar, and until I make my rentrée with a brand new PCON report, take care,

For the last time,

Strat, CON-man

--

His Excellency, Krath Pontifex Strategos Thanatos

Acuithar Khmarh Entharyi, di Tenebrous Arconae

Consul of Clan Arcona

KPN Strategos Thanatos Entar Arconae (Krath)/CON/ Clan Arcona [GMRG: CRU] [ACC: CL:3]

SB / GC-PoDP / SC-SoA / AC-ToSC / DC-PP / GN-BL / SN-BL / BN-AgL / Cr-2D-4R-14A-10S-4E-2T-1Q / PoB-GL / CF-SpF / DSS-AgL / SI-AuL / SoL-TC / LS-GL / S:-18M-1R-4C-15D-4Do-7Dk

{SA: KS: ToL - DBB - ToS - IRC - IRO - MSN - GL - HS1 - PRH - GS - TS - MRK}