Welcome all, to my final report as your Consul and Shadow Lord. It’s been a year and a half of ups and downs, and I’ve been proud to serve as your leader. Let's get this ball rolling, shall we?

Selen
The Citadel

The time after the war proved to be a busy one. There were ships and other assets that needed to be repaired or replaced, honors to be bestowed, and dead to be buried. These demands commanded most of the Shadow Scion’s attention in the days following their return from the Lyra-3K-a system. Even though it took away a significant amount of time from his research, Rhylance reveled, finally having the reigns of power firmly in his grip.

It was well past midnight, and the long line of menials, servants, administrative assistants and sycophants had finally dwindled. Rhylance leaned back in his chair, debating between a few hours of sleep or a few hours in his lab when there came a knock upon the door of his office. His eyes narrowed in irritation at the interruption, but the expression quickly faded when Lucine Vasano let herself in.

“I suspected I would find you still up,” the redhead said as she placed a stack of datapads and flimisplasts upon his desk. “I am glad to see that you are working so hard. It will make things so much easier when I ascend to the Serpentine Throne,” she added with a sweet smile.

“I think you might find that I will be more difficult to displace than the previous Consul,” Rhylance replied with a smirk. “But both of our aspirations are moot if we do not move forward. I believe it is time to initiate the next steps of our plan.”

Lucine paused, a pensive expression flitting across her features. “I am not so certain, darling. I believe we should wait.”

“Wait? My dear, all of the pieces are in place. This is the time to strike! Why should we wait?”

“Primarily because we do not have confirmation that the former Consul is dead,” Lucine said as she moved to stand behind Rhylance’s chair, lightly tracing her fingernails over his shoulders.

“Grot’s report seemed to leave little doubt of it,” Rhylance pointed out.

“Yes, I have some questions for Grot about his report, but strangely he has been avoiding me ever since we returned to Selen,” Lucine replied. “And Zujenia remains adamant that Kordath is alive.”

Rhylance tsked softly. “The Rollmaster is nearly hysterical with grief. I am not certain I would trust her judgment in this matter.”

“And yet…”

The Chiss paused as Lucine’s words faded away. He glanced up to see the thoughtful expression on the redhead’s face, before pressing, “And yet?”

“And yet both she and I knew the moment Atyiru died. Zujenia and Kordath share a strong bond. Honestly, darling, I am more inclined to believe her over Grot.”

The Shadow Scion frowned slightly. Lucine made some good points, but the woman was, by her very nature, a schemer. Could it be that she only wanted to delay for the sake of her plans? “And how long do you propose that we delay?”

“Just until we have verifiable proof that the Sloth is dead. If he is still alive and we play our hand too early, it could expose us.” As she spoke, she began to massage the muscles in his shoulders, working out the knots that had formed from the long hours sitting at the desk. “Besides, why should we rush? Until a replacement is selected, you are the de facto Consul of Arcona. Between that and my position within the DIA, we are well placed to cause problems for anyone else who might have designs on the throne.”

Rhylance sighed softly as he felt the tension begin to leave his muscles, but his mind continued to work on the problem. Still, she made a good point. He especially was in a good position to block any attempts she made to take over. “Very well, perhaps it would be wise to be prudent about this.”

“Oh, I am so glad you see things my way,” Lucine murmured in a honeyed tone.

Rhylance smirked as he grasped her hand, using it to gently pull her around the chair and into his lap. "How could I not, when you were using so many of your wiles to convince me?"

The redhead's smile was playful as she wrapped her arms around him. "Ah, you noticed that, hm?"

The Shadow Scion did not answer, at least not with words. Instead, he lightly grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger as he pressed his lips against hers.

Their kiss was interrupted all too soon when Lucine's datapad chimed to alert her of an incoming message. The redhead sighed in annoyance and reached across the desk to retrieve it. One look at the interface caused her to frown and rise to her feet, their brief romantic moment forgotten.

“What is it?”

Lucine’s reply was quiet and deadly calm. “It is Kordath. He is still alive.”

---

His usual silent steps were ruined by the annoying ‘clack’ sound of the cane supporting his weight as he crossed the polished flagstones. The Serpentine Throne rose before him, looking all the larger and higher on its raised dias now that his body was in shambles. The Ryn coughed, tasting iron as a bit of blood made it to his lips. He wiped it with the back of his hand and pressed on, gritting his teeth and ignoring the silent glare from the matronly Ryn following at his heels. She knew why he was doing this, it had practically been her idea, but it didn’t mean she approved of him moving around.

“You should still be in a sickbed, boy,” she reiterated for what felt like the hundredth time. She wasn’t wrong. His wounds were tightly bound, conventional battlefield medical practices rather than a bacta dump for him. He’d refused more advanced treatment when he’d awoken on Lyra, the face of the woman glaring down at him. A face he’d never seen, but had been described to him a dozen different ways. She’d called him a fool for not accepting a bacta bath or anything more than getting the slugs pulled from him and his wounds cleaned and bound. But she had begrudgingly agreed that the locals needed the supplies more after the Collective’s false flag attacks. It had gained him some small favor with the local administration, enough for him to get a flight back home.

He took two steps up the stairs before his legs stiffened under him, his eyes closing tightly against the pain and sudden dizziness. A shuddering breath brought the cane up to lean on, and he awkwardly, slowly turned and lowered himself to the steps, settling his weight on the cold stone. An old memory stirred, and a smile touched his blood-flecked lips, recalling the insistence that his friend and predecessor had pushed upon him and Uji for a ‘group holo’ when he was just the Rollmaster. He’d been in much the same position, reclined across the steps, as he was now, though he didn’t remember everything hurting. A glance up at the empty throne caused another pang.

I held it together, Blinky, best I could, he thought before a strangled cry came from the entrance of the throne room. He felt her before he could properly see her, and suddenly the Citadel felt like home again. The white-haired hybrid charged across the room, barely registering the presence of the other Ryn in the room.

“‘Ey, Zujibean,” he began, rasping out the words and trying to show her a winning smile. She practically tackled him before seeing the state he was in, instead coming to a stop and lowering herself to the bottom step of the dais.

Her hands cupped his face, pressing softly but firmly, acknowledging his injuries but needing to assure that he was there and alive. Their foreheads pressed together as he embraced the woman, wincing sharply when the act disturbed every barely healed hole in his body.

“I don't want this,” Zujenia eventually breathed. It took Kordath aback, his pain-riddled and definitely med-fogged mind unsure of what she was getting at. He pulled back to look up at her, her golden gaze pleading as she continued. “I don't want to be wonderin' daily if you'll still be alive the next I see you. That some harm will happen when I blink or rest my eyes. And, and I don't want that, it's bad enough just bein' here, let alone a target."

He levered the cane to fight his way to his feet, watching her concerned gaze and feeling guilt shoot through him. He never deserved this woman, he never had. Instead, he smiled and placed his free hand on her shoulder, whispering.

"M'done. Tha schemers can figure it out for themselves. Put it all on tha line for these people and tha minute I get knocked out of commission they just start fightin' for power instead o' tryin' ta find me. Am I right?"

She gave the most minute of nods, looking ashamed. He leaned into her, his breath ragged from just the short speech, "I don't want it either. And I uh," he glanced sideways at the older Ryn standing a somewhat respectful distance away, "I may have already promised Vai here I would nae stay on for a blessin'."

Despite his appearance and state, he still tried to give her a grin, swaying on his feet. Zujenia reached up and gently laid her hand on his cheek again, before blinking, his words registering, and turned to look at the other Ryn.

“Zujenia,” she spoke.

“...mom, I, sorry, I didn’t…”

“You need to lead me to the medical ward, before he keels over in here. Damned fool refused surgery or bacta treatment till he could get here and tell you he was quitting. As if he couldn’t do that afterward. And what about you, young lady?”

The golden-eyed Rollmaster’s jaw worked a few times, her words failing to come as she felt Kordath grow heavier on her shoulder. She turned to check him, her hand going to his bandaged chest to help support him, before seeing him straighten and stare towards the entrance. A strange scene was unfolding: an uncharacteristically disheveled looking redhead was walking as quickly as her heels would allow her, a slender Chiss just outpacing her. Still, she spoke first.

“Shadow Lord, is so just, so good to see you are alive! I must say, I never lost faith that you would return—” she started, her flushed features quickly fading to her usual fair complexion. Her companion began speaking before she could finish, much to her briefly visible annoyance.

“Lord Consul, it is a relief to see you well. It was most unfortunate that we were forced to return without your presence, but I had faith that a man of your capable nature would make it back...relatively unscathed.”

Kordath looked from his Scion to the Qel-Droman Quaestor and back again. He’d thought long and hard on which had ordered the Trandoshan to shoot him in the back, and hadn’t ruled out that they’d worked together. At the moment, he was in pain, he didn’t care, and Vai summed up his own reaction for him with a snort of disbelief.

“We don’t have time for this, boy, let's go.”

“Excuse me? I apologize, but who are you?” asked Rhylance.

Lucine took a single look over the Ryn matron and let out a slight sigh, “Miss Vai, a pleasure to meet you, I must say that working with your daughter has been a great hono—”

“Figure it out fer yerselves,” spoke Kord, his voice grating as he fought through pain and disgust to speak, jaw clenching. “Squabble over it, fight each other, I do nae give a bleedin’ damn. I’m done.”

Zujenia looked from the pair of surprisingly silent Summitters and back to Kordath, with a look of fierce determination, “I’m takin' him to the medical ward. And while you’re figurin' it out, I’m done too. Come on, Kord,” she said in a more gentle tone, helping him limp past the Chiss and Human woman, Vai trailing not far behind. The older Ryn looked...possibly amused.

“Does this simplify or complicate matters?” asked Rhylance as the trio left the throne room. He turned to look at Lucine, who not five minutes past he had found himself sharing a tender moment with. She was looking up the steps at the twisted throne, before looking back to him.

“We shall see. Perhaps you and Grot should have another conversation,” she murmured, trying not to look at the seat of power.

---

Thank you, Lucine, Rhylance, and Zujenia for helping write this final update! For those who don’t get it, Vai is Zuj’s mum, she’s a combat medic who lives in the Principate.

Clan News

Well. First off, the biggest news. We’re the First Fracking Clan again. I’m so proud of all of you, I can’t even express it properly. You didn’t just show up, you kicked arse while doing it. And we looked good doing it (Shades-worn for the Shadesworn). We’ve worked hard to regain this title, and I’m happy to say that we managed to keep our focus on enjoying our time here while doing so, rather than ‘having to win all the things’. You guys did that because you’re awesome, not because it was the most important thing, and that’s what makes Arcona amazing.

Second news, as many of you know I’ve intended to limit my term as Consul to about a year and a half, so as to keep things from getting stale. Leadership opportunities need to open up from time to time to keep things fresh, and give new people a chance to move up. Thus, as soon as the replacement process has finished, I’ll be stepping down from Consul. Am I going anywhere? Nope. I’m not going rogue, I’m just going to a House. Also no, Kordath isn’t dead, for those of you who were aware of the RO ending from the War and didn’t bother to read the fiction update above, heh.

I’m also sad to report that Zujenia has announced her intentions to step down from Rollmaster, as her personal life is absolutely booming (Hooooooouse), so a big thank you for all her hard work! It will be up to my successor as to whether applications for the position of RM open up, but I would be surprised if it didn’t, as her work was a major factor in what lead to us winning this past War.

In other Clan news, we’ve got so many medals and promotions coming through right now post-War! Some of you might be wondering where yours are if you didn’t receive one. It's likely we didn’t push one through for you now because you’re an active member, who participates regularly and we want you to get the best medal you can. If we look at your War activity and go ‘Well, that’s an easy Anteian Cross’ the next thought will probably be ‘But in a month it’ll be a Steel Cross’, we’re gonna go for that SC every time. No reason to shower you all with little merits when you can get flashy bigger ones, eh?

Speaking of...On our Post-War promotion front we've got Tyga (James) picking up his Acolyte, Sera took Hunter, and Aru is our first Knight of the second half of the year! Scarlett, our Lead Spectre, has joined the Equite ranks as a Mystic while Aldaric has moved up to Battlemaster! Tali the Lek-head Aedile of Qel-Droma and Skar the Aedile of Galeres have both moved to Equite 3, and Alara Deathbane is a mother fragging Augur!

Keep an eye on Telegram as more medals and promotions come through!

Brotherhood News

Well first, the War is over! We won! It still feels unreal saying that, so I’ll probably be saying it a lot. Our very own Alaisy took Second Hero and Satsi was in the Top Five!

In other news, the Herald is looking for Magistrates. The Fist is as well, and while certain aspects have changed since the post of the job in that you should be sending your applications to Juna and DRAC now, NOT Alaris, the outline should still be good to follow. Ask your summit if you need help with applying, many of them have taken part in these jobs!

• The Regent put out a Report!

• The Combat Master put out a Report!

Competition Spotlights

• End of the Akk Days - A lovely premise of post War, end of summer time, a prompt for personal writing, ran by our own Zujenia

• Cryptograms - The cryptos return post War, with Week 11 ending on Monday! Ran by Lucine!

• What’s my Fandom Again III - The alternative art styles return, this time focused on Game of Thrones, ran by Eilen and Aru!

• Fall Puzzle Series - Time for puzzles! With a twist! Read the details! Ran by Kordath!

<-

AsktheRyn

• Lucine asks,
  
  • After all my hard work you had to go and die?! Why must you always be so infuriating?!
    
    • Its who I am, luv.
      
  • Can Strong come out to play?
    
    • He’s not got much else to do.
      
  • Do I have to keep asking now that the Ryn is dead?
    
    • Probably not
      
  • Does this mean Strong is looking for new employment?
    
    • I hear he applied to some place called...something Berries?
      
  • Could we be seeing a Consul Strong in the near future?
    
    • Maaaaybe
      
  • Was Kord serious when he stipulated in his will that he wanted a wet T-shirt contest at his funeral?
    
    • Deadly serious.
      
  • Same question as before, only about the Jello wrestling.
    
    • Doubly so.
      ***
      
• Grot asks,
  
  • How's your back?
    
    • Ventilated.
      
  • Does Kord have any permanent scarring or injury from his unfortunate completely unpreventable accident?
    
    • More slug scars it is.
      ***
      
• Alaisy asks,
  
  • Can I have your stuff?
    
    • NO!
      
  • If Kord was still alive, what would he do with the murderlizard?
    
    • There shall be a….thing.
      
  • Would Kord agree with a regular communion with the dead if I transmitted back some Skitterhub footage every now and again? You know, favor for a favor.
    
    • Depends who’s featured.
      
  • Who is going to take over Skitterhub? The highest grossing contributor right?
    
    • I mean, the DIA has most of the feeds as is.
      
  • Kords statue in Selen, with pants or no pants?
    
    • What kind of question is that? Nae pants.
      
  • What will Strong and Sprout be up to next?
    
    • They shall merge into a yellowish creature of intellect and swoleness.
      
  • If Kord could take one thing with him to the afterlife, what would it be?
    
    • The rest of you.
      
  • If there was one last thing Kord could do before his downfall, what would that be? And with whom?
    
    • Hug Shay and Zuji, o’course.
      ***
      
• Zujenia asks,
  
  • You know you're not allowed to die right? loads energy cell into bo-staff
    
    • Not a question, but heard.
  • What did you think was your highlight as consul? Where did you think you could improve, either for yourself or for the clan?
    
    • Winning a War was a nice highlight. I could improve on follow through on the wiki projects, we all could :P
      
  • How does Kord want his funeral services? Set in space, sunk in the sea, drawn and quarter by banthas?
    
    • As the traditions of my forefathers demands...uhh...not left in a ditch somewhere, no real preference beyond that.
      
  • Did you know there are better ways to meet people than getting shot up? Like picking up a comm?
    
    • Eh.
      ***
      
• Atty/Satsi/Senpai asks,
  
  • So 24 or 72 hours before you have some job again after Consul
    
    • I can’t say, I don’t have full control of that decision.
      ***
      
• Qyreia asks,
  
  • Does Kord need Q to kick in the gonads and/or shoot anyone?
    
    • Yup.
      
  • What would Kord like for Q to cook for him, Zuj, and Shay? Call it a post-war homecoming dinner-thing.
    
    • Some traditional Zeltros cuisine maybe? With traditional Zeltros spices and wine pairings. (insert eyebrow wiggles)
      ***
      
• Scarlett asks,
  
  • What do you think we should spend all of our sick war loot on? I'm thinking more Skitters.
    
    • Always a solid choice.
      ***
      
• Chissyface asks,
  
  • What are your feelings regarding the war results.
    
    • Could have won more
      
  • Now that Kord is ?dead?, what's next for the Ryn?
    
    • Probably the afterlife? Or marriage.
      
  • What has been your most positive experience as Consul?
    
    • Winning a War, getting to promote a lot of people felt good too.
      
  • Negative?
    
    • Having to replace Summitters due to circumstances that may have been in my realm of control if I was more of an arsehole.
      
  • You've stated your intention to step down in the future, what advice or words of wisdom would you give a replacement?
    
    • Be social, be supportive, identify those needing help, talk to people.
      
  • What is Strong doing now that he doesn't have a Consul to protect?
    
    • Hanging around, playing with some redhead.
      
  • Also how does he fail about the fact that he failed to keep Kord safe?
    
    • He was busy elsewhere, with another mission. They knew the risks.
      ***
      
• Tali asks,
  
  • I have heard the Clan has come to some spoils of war. Do you wish to hear a business proposition?
    
    • Nah
      
  • How do you feel about traitorous lizards? Can you feel the Karmatic balance since Zuji got stabbed by one too?
    
    • I got sharp things on me mind.
      
  • Are we having Trandoshan Tail Soup?
    
    • Probably not, sounds gamey.
      
  • At the start of their term, every Consul gets to assign a Letter of Last Resort to our Fleet, deciding what final orders to give them in case Dajorra were to be overrun, and how to deploy the remaining stockpile of Strategic Rainbow Glitter Bombs. What did your letter say?
    
    • Purge the countryside.
      
  • If you had to decide one thing your stint as furry Consul-man were to be remembered by, what would it be? What would it not be?
    
    • Stability and a hard worked for win, I think my reign lacked much creativity or innovation.
      
  • Did you still have a project you would have wanted to go through with, but did not? Or did you achieve all your goals and ambitions?
    
    • Wiki. The god damn wiki.
      

Final Thoughts

Well, this is it. I apologize for the character-focused fiction update, I know I made a lot of vague half-promises about these being focused on the Clan, not so much characters. But I felt it was important to set up a good intro for the power vacuum and how it’ll be filled, so sue me :P

It has been, as I said, a pleasure, a joy, an honor, a frustration, and a truly unique experience leading all of you, and I look forward to continuing to spend my time with Arcona. If I was Atty I’d have some Hamilton quotes here I’m sure but really nothing sticks out right now, so I’ll just say it was an honor.

Arcona Invicta. First Clan, motherfrakkers.