It’s been a busy last month for Ajunta Pall. We’ve had a slew of promotions (with a special shout out to new EQ1’s Ra’gnar and Tavi), lots of awards, and our members did very well in the second round of our Restoration feud. We’ve had some people step up into leadership positions. That’s all well and good, but we’re now facing our first real challenge in Restoration: Ascendant. Which brings me to our top story…

Plagueis is now about a day short of being a quarter of the way through the final phase of our three part clan feud. In case you’ve been living in a cave the last few weeks, I’m sure you guys know that this round is different from the previous versions. In this round, it’s not just about individual results. Restoration: Ascendant is pitting House Ajunta Pall against House Karness Muur in a battle for supremacy. I know in the last two rounds, HAP competitors have basically had their run of the competitions. We’ve won overall placements, we’ve dominated events, and we’ve won the battle of participation.

All that being said, that is not the case this time around. Whatever it is that’s done it, somebody seems to have awoken the sleeping giant over in House Karness Muur. They don’t seem to be going away quietly. We’ve lost a heavy hitter to the Clan Summit, HKM has gained a few from transfers in (They’re signing free agents like the Yankees! Don’t let them buy a championship!). At the moment, we’re running about neck and neck with them in terms of entries, so we need to make sure we’re still pushing. I hope everyone here is ready and willing to go out there and work for our victory, because I know you guys can. Try to do your best on the events where you’ve got the skillz (like fiction or graphic), or ones where it’s an open field for anyone that gives their all (trivia, puzzle, etc). A protip for puzzle and trivia as well: Only subscribe when you’ve got the time to sit down and do the event. The timer starts when you subscribe, and time will be the tie breaker on identical scores. If you don’t have the skillz for events like graphics, draw a silly sketch and give it a go anyway. The way things are going, it’s entirely possible that one entry either way could determine the outcome of the entire event.

As I said above, we’re just shy of half way through this first two week round of competitions. Round 1 events will end at 11:59 PM UTC on Saturday the 18th. For those of you stateside, that means your events end at 8pm eastern / 5pm pacific on the 18th. Battleplan will end at the same time as Round 2 events on Saturday the 1st of August.

The parent competition can be found here:

• Restoration: Ascendant

The event competitions can be found here:

• Restoration: Ascendant - Fiction I
• Restoration: Ascendant - Graphics I
• Restoration: Ascendant - Puzzle 1
• Restoration: Ascendant - Trivia 1
• Restoration: Ascendant - Battle Plan (Contact Dracaryis for details on how to participate in this one.)

The Leadership Two-Step

As alluded to above, one of Plagueis’s best and brightest has left us to assume a new post. Jai’de Serpens was elevated to the position of Clan Rollmaster last week. I know she’ll do a great job given how well she’s served in the capacity of Battleteam Leader of Disciples of Dreypa. But, as nature abhors a vacuum, her post in DoD would not stay vacant for long. Taking her place in the position of Battleteam Leader is our very own Onwai Starborne! I’ve spent some time corresponding with Onwai since taking him on as an apprentice, and it’s nice to see another old SW club vet taking the plunge into the Dark Brotherhood. However, if you guys see Onwai and I exchanging secret Emperor’s Hammer hand shakes, try not to be alarmed and keep going about your business.

Better Know a Journeyman an Equite

Next month we’ll return to our regularly scheduled airing of “Better Know a Journeyman”, but this month I wanted to save this spot to highlight one of our long serving members (Who, to be fair, up until last Saturday had been a Journeyman): Octavia Morgan Obrie, better known ‘round these parts as Tavi. She had been in Plagueis for years before I landed here in June of 2012 and had always been one of those members that was just part and parcel of being here. It wasn’t until recently, when I became her Quaestor upon her arrival in Ajunta Pall a few months ago, that I really started to look at her history.

Tavi had been here the last time we were Clan Plagueis (Back before the Dark Times, before the De-clan-pire). She had served as an Aedile of the two former houses of Plagueis, Exar Kun and Satal Keto. She’d participated in feuds and vendettas, most recently the Eleventh Great Jedi War. But she was still a Dark Jedi Knight with all of those accomplishments. From time to time during my service to Plagueis, I’ve come across members who I think have been overlooked. Kuro (now known as Wraith in HKM) and the recently arrived Eiko had both been stuck at Equite 1 with a lot of service and activity under their belt in years past and I’d pushed for them to get their recognition. But, I felt Tavi was in an even worse situation. She’d been stuck below the Equite ranks entirely, and for over half a decade. It made me a bit frustrated. As people that know me well can attest, there is little else that upsets me as much as when I think one of my guys isn’t getting their due. So I made it my mission to make sure Tavi got hers, and on Saturday the club finally recognized what Tavi had been doing all these years. As I said on the email list, I’d recommend that anyone who hasn’t read it yet go and take a gander at Tavi’s promo rec. For those that haven’t, I’ll just leave you with this selection:

I think those numbers, especially given her service in leadership, are enough to warrant her elevation all by themselves. I know, however, that Tavi is more than just those numbers. She is the kind of member that our organization as a whole is absolutely dependent on. The person who remains a constructive, positive addition to our Club no matter what she gets in return. That is why this is probably the longest EQ1 promotion recommendation I’ve ever seen. It’s not about padding the stats, it’s about really showing that the organization has seen everything that Octavia has done over the years that go beyond the pure numbers. It’s about saying thank you to Octavia for waiting for her elevation to the Equites for so long and with so much patience. And, finally, it’s about telling her that I hope she doesn’t have to wait quite so long for her next one.

Honors, Arrivals, and Promotions

• Tra'an Reith di Plagia: Awarded 1 Crescent with Ruby Star
• Furios Morega: Awarded 1 Scroll of the Master & 1 Crescent with Amethyst Star
• Eiko: Transfered from Rogue to Ajunta Pall
• Octavia Morgan Obrie: Promoted from Dark Jedi Knight to Sith Warrior
• Ra'gnar: Promoted from Dark Jedi Knight to Obelisk Templar, awarded 1 Crescent with Sapphire Star, 1 Crescent with Ruby Star, & 1 Crescent with Amethyst Star
• Dracaryis: Awarded 1 Crescent with Sapphire Star & 1 Crescent with Amethyst Star
• Azmodius Equesinfernum: Promoted from Jedi Hunter to Dark Jedi Knight
• DeCicco Ehne: Promoted from Protector to Guardian & from Guardian to Jedi Hunter
• Onwai Starborne: Promoted from Protector to Guardian & awarded 1 Crescent with Emerald Star
• archardus: Newly arrived & promoted from Initiate to Apprentice

Around The Brotherhood

• Seneschal Report: The one where James teases us with possessions.
• Clan Plagueis Report - The one without a clever title, but with centering!
• Gaming Update 39 - The one where Val tells us about the Cluster of Earth.
• Voice of the Brotherhood: Report 4 - The one Evant opens up staff applications (Apply by July 17th!).
• Herald Report - The one where Socks waves goodbye.
• Grand Master Report #40 - The one where Pravus has a Plan. Further updates on whether or not he is a Cylon as they come in.
• Deputy Grand Master Report - The one with Path and Order updates.

Final Words

For my last thought of this month, I’d ask you to go back and read the section on Restoration: Ascendant again. This should be our focus until the curtain comes down on August 1st. I’d ask everyone to do whatever they can. Your fellow HAP’ians are out there giving their best for the team, they’re counting on you to do the same!