Introduction

Welcome to my first report as Consul of Clan Plagueis! There's a whole slew of things that I'd like to cover in this report, even as somebody many of you are familiar with since I've been Proconsul for the last sixteen months or so. That being said, let's dive right in.

Table of Contents

• Fiction Update
• Feels like the first time
• Staffing Changes & Applications
• Clan Lore
• Brotherhood News

Fiction Update

35 ABY
Audience Chamber
The Pinnacle, Aliso

The assembled Plagueis summit and di Plagia, with the notable exception of the Fist of the Brotherhood, were milling about the audience chamber when Selika entered, divided into small groups of hushed conversations sprinkled around the large space. Small braziers that lined the room's walls provided some semblance of light, but most of the chamber's illumination came in the form of Aliso's bright, full moon that was framed within the large window behind the throne. Selika smiled slightly to herself as she crossed the room, the hem of her robes swishing gently as she walked. As she reached the dais the whispers of the conversations quieted, only to be replaced by growing murmurs of confusion as she ascended the four steps there. Finally, as she sat on the throne, the murmurs erupted into shouts of alarm.

"How dare you!" Arden Karn shouted, his voice raising itself above the noise of his peers.

Selika's eyes narrowed as she spoke. "I sit in the place of the Dread Lord, Karn. As is my right," she said, a pointed emphasis on the final word.

The former Corporate Sector enforcer opened his mouth as if to object, but his jaw simply hung slightly open as he realized exactly what she had just said. The others in the room were similarly affected, their own protests dying on their lips.

"So, you are the new Dread Lord," Dacien said matter-of-factly, his unflappable demeanor evident in his tone.

"Yes," Selika confirmed, "and I expect your obedience and deference."

Each of those present bowed at the waist, quietly speaking the honorific due the Plagueis Consul. Some of the newer members, such as Abadeer, bowed deeply. Others, more self assured, made more perfunctory gestures. Karn, never having been one to trust the former One Sith who now occupied the throne, bowed while making sure his suspicious gaze remained on her as he did so.

"If I may ask, Lord, what has happened to Ramar?" Laren Uscot inquired.

"He has decided to devote himself fully to the service of the Master-At-Arms," Selika explained. "He felt that having a more… discreet presence on Arx would be to all our benefit."

There was a collection of nods and murmurs of approval from those before her, but Selika pressed on.

"Now, return back to your duties," Selika said, waving her hand dismissively.

She admitted to herself that the pleasure that came with ruling was still nearly overwhelming. Finally, she had reached that which should have been due to her as her birthright. And yet, there was still one bit of business still at hand.

"Moff Xox," Selika called, "you should remain."

Read more: Discourse / PDF Document

Feels like the first time

So, while this is the first time I'm reporting to you all as Consul, it feels like this is a bit of a reintroduction as opposed to a first time meeting. First, though, I'd like to offer up a hearty thank you to our outgoing Consul Teylas Ramar. He worked tirelessly as the leader of Plagueis for the better part of the last two years, but even before that he was a fixture on the Plagueis summit going back to the beginning of 2014. There are few that have done as much, or given so much of themselves, to our Clan, so please join me in honoring Teylas for his great service to Plagueis. It will be an odd feeling not to have him on the summit, but I guess somebody needs to devote their whole attention to Howie-wrangling.

As far as who I am, I think the most important thing is to share my thoughts on leading in the Brotherhood. First and foremost, I have always seen “leadership” as being a synonym for “service” as opposed to “glory”. In contrast to Selika the character as shown in our latest fiction update, I don't look for people to bow and scrape because I'm "in charge". I view my job as being the one to serve all of you. In essence, I'm here to make sure everyone has a space in which they can have fun and extract joy from their Brotherhood experience. Additionally, I think everything boils down to activity for me. This is true for what I look to generate from the membership, but also in what I expect from myself and my subordinates. When you're leading, it's all about leading from the front. I can't be pressing our membership to be doing "all the things" when I am not making my best effort to do all of those things. I don't think leadership should be an excuse not to be out there showing up when activity time comes around, leadership requires that one shows up.

Another part of what I look first and foremost is our new member experience. I prioritize the inclusion of our members (both new and old, however) with the goal of creating a positive environment where new folks feel welcome. Plagueis, more than any other unit, is the place that welcomes everyone. We open our doors to all that want to find a place here and make a positive impact on us and our fellows. From making members feel comfortable on Telegram to letting them play with our possessions toys, it's all about inclusiveness.

Staffing Changes & Applications

The last few days has seen some changes come to our Clan and House summits as I'm sure some are aware. First and foremost, Abadeer Taasii moved from Aedile of House Karness Muur to take over my former position as Proconsul. However, the changes didn't stop there. Jai'de Serpens, our esteemed Rollmaster, has been battling the demons of Real Life of late, and has decided to step down from her post. Please wish her luck in her fight against the demons, and offer her thanks for her great second stint as Clan RM. In her place I've decided to appoint House Karness Muur Quaestor Arden Karn for his latest repeat tour as Rollmaster. He's done it before, he can do it again! As this left Karness Muur totally devoid of leadership (Zounds!), I made the decision to bypass applications and bring in Furios Morega, late of The Circle battleteam, to take over the reigns. He's another experienced, veteran leader who I know will make a great Quaestor for Karness Muur. I think Abadeer, Arden, and Furios can figure out some way to split the tab for everyone's drinks in celebration of their new positions!

This, however, does leave the positions of Karness Muur Aedile and Battleteam Leader of The Circle open, and I have decided to open them both to applications club-wide. Applicants can apply for one or both of the positions, with the application period running until February 7th at 11:59 pm EST. Please send all BTL applications to Arden, Abadeer, and myself. Those applying for Aedile (or both positions) please include Furios on your application as well. Just let us know what position or positions your applying for, and if you have a preference for one over the other. I know I speak for all my fellow summit members when I say we look forward to receiving your applications!

Clan Lore

Plagueis is, at it's core, Dark. We are the only exclusively dark unit in the entire Brotherhood while everyone else mixes in at least a touch of gray (It's like they're the Grateful Dead or something). I have no plans on shifting our alignment, as I believe that dark is a lot more than many give it credit for. I'm going to repost something that I wrote as a news post comment a few years ago that later made it into a Plagueis Consul report as I think it still merits saying from time to time:

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What is Dark?

The biggest problem about the dark/gray/light dynamic is the misconception that exists as to what both “evil” and “good” actually are in Star Wars. This has been further entrenched by how many others see the "cartoon" villainy that is often seen in places like TOR, the latest of a long line of "dark = evil asshat" morality systems. The "dark side" doesn't have to be Snidely Whiplash, mustache twirling villainy any more than the light side has to be Dudley Do-Right going off to save Nell. Often times the dark path has been pigeon holed into being the side where you will go out of your way to kick a puppy just to kick a puppy because puppies are cute. Yeah, some people in the dark might be that person, but most wouldn't be. Dark and light are both more nuanced than that, and it’s disappointing to see people assuming that anything in between those extremes must be gray.

Many folks talk about going gray while still retaining selfish motivations, the idea that they'd still do whatever it takes to achieve whatever goal. The problem with that is that light and dark in Star Wars aren't just about what you do, they're about why you do. We've all heard that for years in various works of Star Wars. The Jensaarai from the Legends continuity are a perfect example of this. They were taught by Sith, many of their traditions were based on evil things, but they themselves weren't "dark" because they were an order dedicated to the protection of others. There were people that were still light of alignment who were "Gray Jedi" (I'm looking at you, Qui-gon). Jolee Bindo was a Gray Jedi through and through, but that didn't stop him from being light of alignment and having strong opinions about why the Sith sucked eggs.

But, as said earlier, it’s a bit depressing to see "complex character with inner conflicts that isn't thoughtlessly evil" being characterized as the exclusive purview of the gray of alignment. Dark alignment isn't unabashed devotion to puppy kicking and baby killing. Evil doesn't have to be Stalin, engaging in purges to kill massive portions of society because they looked at you funny (including meteorologists who failed to accurately predict the weather in the 1930's). Evil can just as easily be Vladimir Putin doing what he thinks is right for his people and other ethnic Russians, boundaries of sovereign nations be damned. (Though I feel free to revise my opinion on Vladdy if he goes off the deep end at a later date.) Are you a selfish character who will do "whatever it takes" to achieve a goal? Congrats, you're dark of alignment:

From Wookieepedia: The dark side was seen as having been used for selfish purposes, although many darksiders who were accused of such selfishness claimed that the dark side was simply a means to achieve an end. One of the most notable examples was Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi who embraced the dark side with the intentions of saving his wife after seeing her die in a vision, even at the expense of the Jedi Order.

The definition of "whatever it takes" of course differs from character to character. You might draw the line at a massacre of a village but not at a death here or there. Still dark. "Dark" and "light" both contain spectrum within themselves, they're not points that are solely at the "extreme" end of the spectrum. Selika is, character wise, dark. Not because she is motivated to go around killing people for "funsies", but because she's going to do for herself and if anyone else gets screwed over (or dead) on her way to getting hers, well that's too bad for them. It's important that we as a Clan, the sole bastion of unabashed darkness, make dark more than the extreme of all black. Dark needs to be more than rabid, thoughtless evil. If we don't there's really going to be next to nobody that wants to actually align "dark" and members will end up skewing gray which, most importantly, will slowly lead to every unit aligning gray. All three alignments should offer equally divided portions of the canvas, gray should not get to lay claim to everything that isn't at the very edge.

If you want to play Jolee Bindo and really have a character balanced on the knife edge, you should be gray. If you want to play a character that is being pulled to the dark end of the spectrum that's resisting the fall, be gray. But, if you're not playing a character who's genuinely trying to maintain neutrality, nut up and call yourself what you are: dark. Admit that the dark alignment is more than Hitler, Stalin, or Mao. Admit that "evil" can come in many different shades of dark (maybe as many as 50), and that a character motivated by self advancement and selfishness doesn't have to execute subordinates willy-nilly to be dark. Dark isn't one shade, it's many.

#darkiscomplicated

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Plagueis isn't going to be shying away from that as we develop further. We still have a new planet to expand out across (it's not like our Clan RO isn't titled "Manifest Destiny" or anything). We're looking ahead to better defining what Plagueis will be now that we aren't the nomadic, space dwelling group that we have been over the last few years. We have roots now, and we need to look to not only protect but also support them. Making developments to our fictional lore and setting is how we grow, and I hope that we'll be able to do that as we oftentimes have in the past: Plot driven competition as opposed to simple story dumps. It is my goal to make sure everyone not only reads our new stories but also gets to experience them while being a part of them.

Brotherhood News

• Headmaster Report #9 - The one with new projects
• Voice Update #6 - The one with the brand new magistrate
• House Galeres QUA Applications - The one where Atty asks for your help
• Fist Report #5 - The one with pastry fiction
• Herald Report #20 - The one with the Graphics Society
• Combat Master Report 4.5 - The one where Atra wants you to help him judge people

In Closing

I'm really looking forward to being able to serve everyone here in Plagueis. I've hung my hat in a lot of different places in the Brotherhood, spending time in every currently active unit outside of Odan-Urr at one point or another, but Plagueis is the only place I've ever called home. It's my goal in the coming months to be able to offer everyone here some fun competitions, write a lot of cool medal and promo recommendations, and generally help everyone here have a blast. Stay tuned to this space, as I know that Abadeer is going to take the torch and bring you your first regularly scheduled Proconsul report. I know that I can't wait to see what he's got cooked up.