HQD April Report

Introduction

Greetings Qel-Dromans, Arconans, and all you voyeurs out there!

As you may have noticed, the shake-up with Cel2 stepping down and Cel1 taking over HQD left us without a report for March. As such, we’ve got a huge one for you below the fold.

In all seriousness, though: if you only read one report this month...read the Consul’s. But if you only read two reports this month, make sure you read this one.

ᴮʳᵒᵘᵍʰᵗ ᵗᵒ ʸᵒᵘ ᵇʸ ᴰᵃʳᵏ ˢᵒᵘᶫˢ ³ ᵃᶰᵈ ᶜᵃᶠᶠᵉᶦᶰᵉ

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Fiction
3. News
4. Competitions
   • Sins of the Past
5. Awards
6. Promotions
7. Shadow Academy
8. Transfers
9. TL;DR
10. Quaestor's Corner
11. Crescent Leaderboard
12. Closing Words

Fiction

T-00:00:12
Industrial Distinct, Estle City
Selen
Dajorra System

Fools, thought a mountain of a man. Wrapped in a dark, nondescript cloak that enveloped his bulky frame, his burning golden gaze passed over the second of Selen’s moons and lingered, for a moment, on the shadowed spires of the Citadel in the distance. Fools mothered by even greater fools in turn.

He turned his back on spires’ silhouettes and strode purposefully down an alleyway wide enough for a hovertruck. Distantly, he heard just such a convoy passing, their engines rumbling and straining under what he assumed was heavy cargo on its way to the ports. Whub-ub-ub-ub. The machinery echoed on and on, maddeningly. The cloying, pervasive fumes of oil and grime seeped into the nearby factory walls and the ground underfoot, assaulting his nostrils.

And still, it was not so vile as the stench of his Jedi-adoring clanmates. Still, the cacophony was not so infuriating as their traitorous murmurs of revolt or death at the mess hall tables. His fist tightened around the hilt of the saber at his belt as if clamping around a throat, his mingled blood boiling at the thought. He couldn’t stand to bite his tongue much longer.

And perhaps, fortunately, he wouldn’t need to. Not if the message he’d received was genuine.

The hulking half-Human stopped in his tracks, glancing around briefly to orient himself. His eyes turned to the warehouse before him and the faded, soot-smeared numbers of its address.

If you, brethren, doubt the Path our Consul has us pursuing, then come to a meeting at 0300 tonight...

The message, signed with the encryption certificate of the Arconae, had offered an unremarkable meeting place in Estle City’s industrial district. It had also offered hope. Hope that, perhaps, he wasn’t alone in his desire to see the Brotherhood united for the first time since the Lion of Tarthos’ debacle at New Tython. Since the Jedi joined the Brotherhood.

It was possible that the message was a trap, sent by one of the Consul’s agents to lure in dissenters. If so, I’ll just claim I wanted to track down the source of the dissent and present them to Atyiru’s little Rainbow Friendship Squad myself. He thought that unlikely, though. The certificate itself had been genuine, and the di Tenebrous Arconae guarded their secrets jealously. Besides, any price would be worth paying if it meant stopping this madness and bringing his Brethren back into the fold.

Ernordeth Puer-Irae pushed back his hood, cool air meeting his reddish scalp, and smiled confidently at the building that beckoned to him. One way or another, it was bound to be an interesting night.

News

Brotherhood

• ACC Journeymen Tournament
  
• Exodus Day (and Seals of Loyalty)
  
• New TeamSpeak Server
  
• Grand Master’s Invitational Tournament Conclusion
  

Clan

• Celahir was appointed Quaestor of House Qel-Droma (more on that later)
  
• A new major Clan Event has begun. Check it out!
  

Competitions

Buckle up, there’s a lot to do here!

Sins of the Past

Wait, what is this?

Welcome to Sins of the Past! This is a series of 4-week events Arcona is running that will help shape the fictional landscape of the Shadow Clan. Each “Episode” of Sins will contain the competition types listed below (see “Scoring Methodology”). The Special Event will vary from Episode to Episode. Plot updates will be sent out over the Arcona mailing list on a weekly basis, as well as made available on the Brotherhood’s Discourse. The purpose is to have some fun, kick some ass, and move forward as a Clan post-Purge. We're having a great time writing this story and incorporating all of your feedback. Hopefully you have just as much fun being a part of it (and yes, for the most part we're trying to feature you guys, not us on the Summit, wherever possible).

And remember, your submissions will help shape what does and doesn't become part of the new Arcona Canon.

Okay...but where am I?

Plaintext Version

This is Episode I: The Phantom Businessman, the first series of competitions in Sins of the Past. As the events progress, you'll see us exploring certain themes and characters that have long resonated with Arcona, for good and ill, and use those themes and characters to move our Clan's story forward into the future. You'll always be able to find the latest Plot Updates on the Brotherhood's Discourse. You can find the newest one above, but make sure you check the Discourse link above to see all of them.

Competitions

You can find the main competition here.

The Container Competition for Episode I can be found here.

All subsequent Episodes will have their own Container Competitions under the main event as well.

Make sure to at least look at all the competitions listed under Episode I. Some of them (intentionally) have information about the plot that others might not. While this information will all be included in plot updates by the end of the Episode, it might inform your decisions on how your Fictions and Run-Ons play out.

Please note that the Cryptography is based on who submits soonest*, not who submits the fastest after they subscribe. This is intended, so get your teams together (where applicable) and get on it!

*Example: Knight Fred subscribes to the competition immediately and submits his solution tomorrow afternoon (18 hours later). Acolyte Wanda subscribes to the competition tomorrow morning and submits her solution tomorrow night (16 hours later). Even though Acolyte Wanda took less time to solve it, Knight Fred still got his answer in first. If both are correct, Knight Fred wins.

Scoring Methodology

You can find a breakdown on the scoring in the Main and Container competition pages, however I'm including it below for reference. We're giving out medals for each Competition, for each Episode and for the overall Sins of the Past Event. That is a lot of shinies up for grabs, so the points you earn count!

Placement	Base Scoring	Special	Puzzle	Fiction	Graphics	Gaming	Flash
		3	2.5	2	2	2	1
1st	3.5	11	9	7	7	7	4
2nd	2.5	8	6	5	5	5	3
3rd	1.5	5	4	3	3	3	2
Participation	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

So, as an example, Knight Sample completes the following activities.

• Participates in seven events
• Receives 1st in a Puzzle
• Receives 2nd in a Cluster Race
• Receives 3rd in two Flash Games

They will have earned 21 points.

Leaderboard

You can find the Scoreboard here, in a document that will be updated as time goes on. You'll see that Ernordeth is in first place, currently, with Stang and Kordath both nipping at his heels. Despite this, it's still anyone's ballgame and there are tons of placement and participation points still up for grabs! Make sure you get working on those fictions, run-ons and graphics. Don't let the GM Loyalist sweep victory out from under you!

Contact Info if any questions/concerns/issues

​​If you have any questions or concerns on anything Sins related, please come directly to Atyiru and Terran. We'll do our best to address them ASAP.

Now get out there and kick some ass!

House

• Open Battleteam Fiction (Shadow Gate)
• Open Battleteam Fiction (Styx)

Clan

• Curator of Arcona
• A Life Before the Clan
• The Mirror’s Edge
• Arcona Gaming Dominance
• Reflections of Lessons Past

Brotherhood

• The Magical 1%
  • This is a really interesting competition being hosted by Gal’s own Aedile Wuntila. It suggests an interesting, new perspective to try writing from. Go check it out!
• Dark Brotherhood: The Gathering II
  • Create Brotherhood-themed Magic cards. I never played Magic, but people seem to get a kick out of it. Go do something low-key and mellow once you’ve finished with Sins.

Additional competitions can be found in the Competition Center.

Awards

Strategos Thanatos Entar Arconae

• Steel Cross
  
• Crescent with Diamond Star x6
  
• Crescent with Ruby Star x6
  
• Crescent with Amethyst Star
  
• Legion of the Scholar
  

Celahir Erinos Arconae

• Crescent with Amethyst Star
  
• Crescent with Emerald Star x2
  
• Legion of the Scholar
  

Myrji Ka Sol Erinos

• Steel Cross
  
• Crescent with Amethyst Star x2
  
• Crescent with Sapphire Star
  
• Crescent with Emerald Star x4
  

Kordath Bleu d'Tana

• Crescent with Ruby Star
  
• Crescent with Amethyst Star x4
  
• Crescent with Emerald Star
  
• Scroll of the Master
  

Terran Koul

• Seal of Loyalty
  
• Crescent with Amethyst Star
  
• Crescent with Emerald Star
  

K'tana

• Crescent with Diamond Star x2
  
• Crescent with Amethyst Star
  
• Crescent with Sapphire Star x2
  

Celevon Edraven Erinos

• Crescent with Amethyst Star x2
  
• Crescent with Emerald Star
  

Timeros Caesus Entar Arconae

• Crescent with Ruby Star
  

Rins'zler Sang-Kalinor

• Crescent with Ruby Star
  
• Crescent with Sapphire Star x4
  
• Crescent with Emerald Star
  

Rrogon Skar Agrona

• Crescent with Emerald Star x2
  

Livana Magnuri

• Crescent with Topaz Star
  

Marick Arconae

• Seal of Loyalty
  
• Anteian Cross
  
• Crescent with Ruby Star
  
• Crescent with Amethyst Star
  
• Crescent with Sapphire Star
  

Alaris Jinn

• Dark Cross
  
• Crescent with Amethyst Star x2
  
• Crescent with Emerald Star
  

Revs

• Crescent with Sapphire Star
  

Juliana Kelrune

• Crescent with Sapphire Star
  

Zujenia

• Scroll of Foundation
  

Arruna Novar

• Anteian Cross
  

Promotions

• Kordath Bleu d'Tana to Seer
  
• Myrji Ka Sol Erinos to Savant
  
• Rins'zler Sang-Kalinor to Knight
  
• Jadex “Raider” Stormrider to Acolyte
  
• Juliana Kelrune to Acolyte
  
• Zujenia to Neophyte
  
• Xandor Reforged to Novice
  
• Jakius Amaranthus to Novice
  
• Dundun to Recruit
  

This is how I’m picturing Rins’zler right now.

Shadow Academy

• Rins’zler received a Dark Maven in Philosophy!
  

Transfers

• Rins’zler joined Styx
  
• Juliana rejoined us from the Rogues
  
• Celevon stepped down from Quaestor and joined Styx
  
• Kordath joined Shadow Gate
  
• Celahir became Quaestor
  
• Sashar joined Styx
  
• Lonewolf transferred from Styx to Shadow Gate
  

TL;DR

Nope. Not this time. Go read it. :P

Quaestor’s Corner

Hello Qel-Dromans! It is I, Cel1. Below you will find an excerpt from my introduction e-mail, as I’ve heard not everyone had chance to look at it:

Most of you know me, for those who don't, I'm Celahir Erinos Arconae, most commonly known as Cel or Irfan, feel free to call me anything that makes sense though.

I have been part of Arcona for a long time and have held various positions ranging from Battle Team Leader to Consul. Six years ago I first got a shot and being Quaestor of Qel-Droma and it is both my pleasure and honour to have been granted another term.

With that little introduction out of the way it’s time to get down to business. Your Summit has been hard at work analyzing the state of the House and how we can improve your experience. It has come to our attention that there are some discrepancies on several wiki pages that talk about who we are and where we came from. Aside from that, the Arcona Article Improvement is still on-going. What this means is that now is a great time for any of you interested in aiding to clear up any confusion that might be caused by incorrect or outdated information; but there’s more, something I feel should excite at least some of you. Right this moment we are working out the details on where we came from, where we are and where we’re going. Qel-Droma has its history and as a Summit we are willing to revise this if it seems necessary. The future is another matter entirely, and whilst we certainly have plans and ideas, I want nothing more but to hear from you, the members. We will always work our hardest to create content we think is enjoyable for all of you. But, at the risk of sounding repetitive, we really want you guys/gals to tell us what you think is awesome because that’s the best way for us to truly know what excites you all.

So, any comments, thoughts, ideas and opinions are more than welcome to find their way into our inboxes. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at [Log in to view e-mail addresses] and [Log in to view e-mail addresses] and make sure to put HQD Development as the subject. Feel free to send us any ideas you have about our history and present situation also. I can’t urge you enough to take this chance to really be a part of Qel-Droma’s future - something that really excites us.

With that said, I also bring some sad news today. Myrji Ka Sol Erinos has brought to our attention that due to unforeseen real life circumstances he is no longer able to dedicate the time he feels necessary to fulfill his duties as Battle Team Leader. Since his appointment he built Styx up from the ground into a team with a premise that hasn’t been utilised within Arcona as far as I’ve seen. Styx is a team that aims to fill a role that not everyone always thinks about, and with the groundwork laid out by Myrji I am quite excited and curious to see how this team will grow and become a part of Qel-Droma.

I’d like you all to join me in thanking Myrji for his work, Styx wouldn’t have existed if it wasn’t for your continued effort, thank you!

With that said, Styx needs a new Battle Team Leader. This means applications are open as of right now! We’re looking for someone who is excited to work with the concept of Styx and wants to be involved in making it a part of Qel-Droma and Arcona.

Requirements are as follows:

• Less than 24 hour email turnaround time
• Any past leadership in the Brotherhood or notable achievements listed
• Any leadership experience outside of the club or in real life that may be relevant listed
• Presence in Clan Channels is required
• Ideas for the fictional expansion and position of Styx
• Ability to mediate, work as a team, manage time, and problem solve

Things worth mentioning in your application:

• Having taken and passed the Shadow Academy's Leadership courses will be looked upon favorably.
• Knowing yourself is a good thing. Tell us about what you can bring to the team and where you could improve.

Typical Battle Team Leader duties include:

• Writing and publishing monthly Battle Team reports
• Tracking and being conscious of members’ activity and taking responsibility for keeping track of when they are due for medals or promotions
• Writing of lead and/or supporting recommendations for medals and promotions
• Overseeing the developing and direction the Battle Team
• Constant communication with the rest of the Summit
• Development and training of Battle Team Members

TL;DR

There’s really important stuff up there, get reading!

Crescent Leaderboard

Below you will find the numbers used to determine the scoring and the leaderboard itself.

• Diamond: 7
  
• Ruby: 6
  
• Amethyst: 5
  
• Sapphire: 4
  
• Emerald: 3
  
• Topaz: 2
  
• Quartz: 1
  

Member	Points
Strategos	83
Kordath	29
K'tana	27
Myrji	26
Rins'zler	25
Marick	15
Alaris	13
Celevon	13
Celahir	11
Terran	8
Skar	6
Timeros	6
Juliana	4
Revs	4
Livana	2

Closing Words

Well, boys and girls, that’s about it for now. We have a new Quaestor in the House, a new enemy in the wings, and a dozen new ways you can show the Brotherhood just how much you kick ass (go do those competitions)!

On a more serious note (I actually mean it this time), I’m proud of all of you. In the past 60 days you’ve earned 71 medals. Seventy One! And that’s not including Clusters. We’ve also had the privilege of pushing through 15 promotions in 60 days - or one every four days on average. As a leader in this club, I cannot begin to tell you how awesome that makes me feel. I’m honored to be your Aedile, and I just want you guys to know it. <3

I would also like to take a moment to extend my own thanks and gratitude to Myrji for his time and dedication as Battleteam Leader of Styx. It's been a pleasure working with you, Maxie, and I hope we can do so again in the future.

Goodnight, Campers.

Seer Celahir Erinos Arconae
Quaestor, House Qel-Droma

Augur Terran Koul
Aedile, House Qel-Droma