(Sorry Xen, I'm bumping down that nice fiction and event post you just made. It's neat.)

Hi everyone,

I hope that if you've been taking finals, that all went alright. I know it was hectic for me, but now I'm excited to have more time for the DJB and to dive into the wealth of competitions. The DC's set up a bunch for us, plus our own SPECIAL competitions. (Note for other Clans: that's an acronym!). There's been a lot of new stuff that's come out so we have a lot to talk about and I'll probably still not break 2000 words. Later edit: I lied.

These new things include a bunch of news from the DC, including the launch of Possessions, as well as new fictional details for CNS and other stuff.

Aedile Applications for House Shar Dakhan

I wanted to cover this first so everyone would see it. Aul has served awesomely as Aedile for a couple of months now, but has had to step down due to that demon of real life. We've been really glad to have him, and although he did not have a lot of time, he did manage to help in setting up the Project SPECIAL competition while also keeping HSD on track. I want to thank him again for his work.

That, however, leaves his position open. I'm including the following application notice on behalf of Darkblade. This may look sort of familiar to you if you've been reading Taldryan reports. Its really similar to something Rhylance used for his positions, and it was so good, we decided to steal it.

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Sadly Aul has resigned his position as Aedile of Shar Dakhan due to real life. I want to thank him for his service as my Aedile even though it was a brief one. We were able to discuss, plan and push out an event which I really enjoyed working with you on! I hope you fare well and that we can see you around in TG on occasions!

I am opening up applications for Aedile of House Shar Dakhan. This position is pretty important, as you are my go to man when we discuss events, plan things that need to be done or work on projects handed to us by the Summit. I work extremely close with my Aediles’ and try to provide them as much freedom as possible to allow them to grow, learn and develop their own skills to help them in future positions.

A little about working with me: I take your thoughts and opinions seriously and usually don’t make decisions without having discussed them with either you, or the House Summit first. I am open to suggestions, criticism and feedback if they are just and can provide the same should you wish so. I love my Aediles, special shoutout to Bentre and Aul, and I am confident in my abilities to reward you when you have earned it. In return all that I ask is the willingness to learn, be open to suggestions/feedback and to be active!

I will accept applications from all members of the DJB, not just from Naga Sadow. I encourage anyone who feels that they would like to work with me in forging a better House to apply. Here’s what I’m looking for:

• Someone who can work well with any member of the DJB, and put any personal issues aside for the betterment of our Clan, and the Brotherhood as a whole.
  
• Someone who has ideas for things they’d like to see happen in the future of House Shar Dakhan, as well as can help me with the ideas I already have planned.
  
• Someone who has a strong presence on Telegram, and a decent email response time as you’ll be included in discussions, as they can occur at any time of day due to the Summit’s location across the world.
  
• I may ask for opinions from Locke and Sang based on your application, so be sure to keep that in mind when writing the application.
  
• I want to know what skills or strengths you could bring to my Summit, as I need people who can excel where I may not be as strong.
  
• There are no minimum rank requirements, but I will take the experience of each applicant into account.
  
• Aedile is a position that works with the Clan Summit, so I need to see that you are ready to handle that kind of responsibility.
  
• Be prepared for follow up questions to be asked.
  

TIPS

• Show me that you have put some effort into this application. I want a person I can depend on to do their job to the best of their ability. This is basically an audition.
  
• I want to see honesty and professionalism. If you have a history of being hot headed and unable to handle discussions, convince me how you have changed/plan to do so.
  
• Take your time, and put up your best effort.
  
• Show me that you have plans and ideas. Even if they would not be the easiest to enact, or if it is decided not to go with that idea, the fact that you came up with one speaks volumes to me.
  
• Don’t be afraid to apply if you’re not from Naga Sadow. I would actually prefer a non CNS member on this Summit. I would love to have an outside opinion on CNS to help us grow not only the House, but also the Clan into a better place.
  

Applications will be due to me at [Log in to view e-mail addresses], Locke at [Log in to view e-mail addresses], and Sang at [Log in to view e-mail addresses] no later than December 28th, but I reserve the right to appoint the positions before that date if I get an applicant that I feel is right for the job and can handle working with me.

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Brotherhood News

There has definitely been some big stuff this month. There was a new Regent Report where, among other things, Evant explained how Clans get money. It's a pretty good read. Then there's the official launch of Possessions, which really should have a giant star next to it because we have been waiting years. I mean, I've always been told "don't give yourself a ship, Possessions is coming out." Now I can finally buy a ship. And no one can tell me I can't have it.

That's the coolest thing ever.

But its definitely not just ships. The above report includes links to Item Stores, where you can buy weapons, droids, armor, landspeeders, and other equipment. The entire list is rather extensive. It's pretty cool, and then you can customize your stuff with aspects. Take my ship, for example. It has modifications that give it super fast afterburners and ion cannons, in addition to it's cosmetics. It's not just ships, though, [other stuff] has different aspects as well.

There's also a separate shop for clan stuff, and you might notice that many Clans have already bought their armed forces. We haven't quite gotten there yet, because we have other things to determine first, but we will, and you'll be included. I'll mention this again further down in the report.

Possessions required quite a bit of work, from quite a few people. A lot of key figures are recognized in the most recent GM post, and you should take the time to thank these people. This has been one of the largest projects in the club's history, and is one of the many great things that sets us apart from other organizations. The fact that our people could come together to build something like this is amazing, and it has been the culmination of work over many years. If you haven't bought anything yet, you should at least check it out, and appreciate the amount of effort and work that went into making all this a reality.

Speaking of other stuff, the Voice has released a new fiction called Seven Strands which actually includes fiction written by Summit members from each of the seven Clans. This is just going to be the first of many of these compilations, and we will also have fiction of our own following up on this, but more focused on what CNS is doing and how we're responding to events.

There are some other important club-wide news items to cover, as well.

There has been a recent Combat Master Report announcing the results of the Guests of the Matron event and also explaining some changes and tweaks to Force Powers. It's always important to read these if you care about how your character sheet functions in fiction and the ACC. Riku Keibatsu came 4th overall, and narrowly missed out on third place. He had some fantastic battles, and did a great job of not timing out. Ever.

It turns out that if you finish your duels, you have a shot at doing well. Hint hint. ;) But Riku's posts were also well-done and he took a solid and practical approach to the competition, like I'd expect of anyone with the Keibatsu name. Great job in representing CNS, Riku!

The Chamber of Justice is looking for both a new Right and Left Hand of Justice. These are key positions in serving the club and on the Justicar's team. Not only that, but they are also notably required for certain Shadow Academy degrees. However, if you apply, you should go into it thinking about the significance of this position and how important it is to the club. It is not to be taken lightly.

That said, I'm sure there's a joke there about Jac looking for new hands...but I'm not clever enough to make it. That's what comments sections are for, right? ;)

Also, the Fist has new staff, including a new Praetor. Congratulate them, pester them with questions, and if you're Sang, be sure to ask if Pokemon can be included as a supported platform. Dealing with that is like, a rite of passage for new Fist staff members. Really.

Finally, it is with deep, sorrowful regret that I must report that the esteemed position of Battleteam Sergeant no longer exists….

Just kidding, I'm actually really glad for the clarification! It's meant nothing to the Master of Arms staff for quite awhile now. What does this change? Nothing, really. The only difference is that now, if you're a Battleteam member and want to help out the team, there's not an extra three letters to officially go beside your name. Still, you are rewarded exactly the same, and I would rather have the merit medal than the three letters, anyway.

In addition, Seals of Loyalty were recently awarded. I'd like to congratulate everyone who got one and say that choosing someone to nominate for this is no easy task. There's a lot of great talent in the Brotherhood, and only so many Seals to go around. It definitely isn't a decision made lightly. From CNS, Marcus, Sang, DarkHawk, and Bentre all received one. Congrats, guys!

Last but not least, if you haven't taken the TOR advanced SA course, and you want to, this is your last chance.

Rogue One Celebation Competitions

This is a rather big, DC-sponsored event, so I'm giving it it's own section. There's like, nine different competitions here, including gaming, runons, fiction, graphics, trivia, and even a battleplan! Note that the battleplan and runon require teams, so you probably want to get that sorted out rather soon. You can find the entire list below:

Competition: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Celebration

Last year, I believe the top three overall placers got unique dossier accessories, and Mav has recently announced that they will do something similar this year. Last year, CNS took the top three spots. Well, we don't have Atra this year, so someone else will have to be our third top placer. Who's it going to be?

I'd also like to note that I'm not particularly good at competitions and I still placed. You never know what will happen. Now I get this cool image of Starkiller Base for my dossier, and no one else can use it. Ha!

Clan News

On the Clan front, we currently have a competition series and event running from both the HMR and HSD Summits. Sang and I are finishing up a couple of competitions and our Runon just ended. Currently, our focus is on the Rogue One Celebration competitions and on setting up our Clan fiction storyline, as it has recently been in disarray.

First up is Project S.P.E.C.I.A.L. This event is a series of smaller competitions run by Darkblade and Aul for the whole Clan. Their competitions wrap up December 31st and include flash games, trivia, and a few other things. Overall, it's a pretty fun event with a nice thematic twist.

Meanwhile, the Marka Ragnos Summit continues to run their Siege of Heaven series of fiction competitions. These involve various events surrounding the recapture of the city of Kar Alabrek from dissident forces on Tarthos. They have written a lot of nice fiction supporting this, which can be found here.

Additionally, the Runon that Sang & I have been running has just ended. It seems like everyone had a lot of fun with Transmogrification, and judging it will probably be equally as exciting. We know that there's always more to your story, and that a lot of people didn't have time to conclude things. I thought about extending it, but with the Rogue One Celebration going on, I didn't want to have another Runon to distract from that. Thus, after the end of the year, we'll have a continuation to Transmogrification, where everyone can pick up where they left off (or after the Rogue One Runon) and continue your story. It'll also be another competition, so you'll have more chance to win crescents for it.

We also have a new fiction to release for the Clan: A Shift in Focus.

The purpose of this fiction is to begin a shift toward a new direction for the Clan. For a long time, we've just been Clan Naga Sadow, and there hasn't really been one main objective besides keeping the Sith Empire afloat. We (the Summit) aim to change that, and this fiction is just the beginning. To kinda summarize, I figured, Locke would realize military force wasn't going to work against Pravus, and look to something else. Our Clan is named for an ancient Sith Lord who relied on sorcery as well as their regular military to achieve their goals, and that's an inspiring approach that we (fictionally) think could help us.

To quote what Sang said, "it's basically like we're Indiana Jones in space." Wow, that sounds so much more cool than the Krath reference I was going to go with. :P

In general, this should make those of you who like alchemy, sorcery, treasure hunting, ancient knowledge, and other, similar things pretty happy. If you're not into those things, don't worry, it's not like this is the only thing we're going to do. It's kind of a helpful backdrop to explain what our leadership is trying to do and why, and provides something to tie events together for the Clan. We also feel that this will work well for both our Force Sensitive and Non-Force Sensitive members, as many of these things can appeal to both. If you're a Dark Jedi, you may like absorbing ancient, darker knowledge. If you're a mercenary, you may like getting paid to track down or protect artifacts, tomes, or other things. Or, maybe you want to gain power to take control of anything CNS finds for yourself and your own goals. This is just a few examples of how you could fit this with your character, but there are many more possibilities.

Your character may not agree with this approach and that's okay. In fact, we want to know, because that will make the story more interesting later on. While I hope to shape this into an identity that will help define and shape CNS for years to come, it's currently in it's beginning as the direction of one Consul, so we will see how it goes.

You may notice that not many people are in this first fiction. I wanted to get the ball rolling with something simple, but we do plan to include you guys in future updates. This is everyone's story, whether they're 100% into this idea, or their character thinks it is ludicrous, everyone still has a part, and we want to reflect that.

I won't give an exact timeline for the next part, but expect it by the end of the month.

As mentioned before, you've probably also noticed that most Clans have purchased their armed forces and those are officially listed on the Clan Possessions tab now. We have not yet. There are a couple of things we want to establish first, such as the fiction above. We also want to give you guys a chance to discuss the choices in light of this, so there will be that, too. You'll be getting an email in the next few days about this.

We're also working with Wally (our new Voice) to figure out what parts of our current forces to lose when and where, and other things like that. I don't plan to make too many major decisions on that front without consulting with you guys, so while a ship or two may disappear in a brilliant, fiery explosion, you don't have to worry about waking up to half the Orian System gone or anything like that.

Clan Questions

I'm not actually going to do a Q&A for this report. I feel that a lot of your more serious questions may be answered above, but I could be wrong. We definitely will do so next time, though, and this report will provide some much-needed, updated context in which to ask questions.

Conclusion

I've tried to keep this short, but there was a lot to talk about. I'm excited to work with the Summit to bring a new fictional direction to CNS, to help define our place and role in the universe. In the near future, we'll expand on that to show how each Summit is responding to it and combining it with their own goals. We'll also involve members to show how it overall effects everyone. In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the Rogue One Celebration competitions and the movie. Look for a Proconsul report from Sang by the end of the month, which will include a further update to our story, among other things.

Now I'm going to go see Rogue One tomorrow and try not to hear too much about it before then. ;)

Signed:

Locke Sonjie
Consul of Naga Sadow