A regularly scheduled report, which has some brief ending fiction (From Muz's perspective, anyway) for New Ties, some words of praise for those who did work, and a little teaser of what fun comps are coming next.

ADS Fallen Spear In Orbit of Qirool VI Qirool System Taldot Sector

Aeternus laughed as he shrugged out of his cloak, a long black garment lined in silver, speckled now with dust and the dark sweat of combat. He turned, eyes resting on the case he had brought with him. the silver metal chest was open, lined with deep blue fabric, compressed in the shape of his weapons and armor. He threw the cloak at it, watching the lid slam closed unceremoniously as if it were eating. He let his eyes slide up, catching the image of Muz as he was closing his arm up again, no doubt sending commands to the bridge.

"So..." Aeturnus cleared his voice, stepping closer to the man. "Did you see what you wanted to see?"

Muz looked at him for half a heartbeat, then nodded once. There were half a dozen reasons why he had suggested this planet to Sanguinius. Some were personal, some were exploratory. Speaking of which...

"We should leave." Muz's words came almost quietly, and it was Aeternus' time to nod. The Inquisitorius would be arriving at any moment, spurred into action by the reports of the Star Chamber taking to the field. By two clans working together. Pravus was a suspicious man, after all. He turned toward the arming chest again, sliding the locks closed with a flick of his wrist. "I'll get word to Bloodfyre, tell him to get the fleet back to Yridia. I assume the invitation to the Coil still stands?"

Muz nodded. Some traditions stayed true. The 'Debriefing' after any Naga Sadow engagement was a legendarily raucous affair that had given the clan a few epithets that the Consuls never seemed to appreciate. The newly constructed Coil at Kar Alabrek was in need of an inaugural party, after all. "Tarentum is welcome."

Aeternus bowed his head as he stepped onto his transport, the ship turning as he found his way onboard with his arming chest. Muz stood there, watching as the ship cleared the bay, sliding in with the rest of the Tarentum fleet as their forms started to blur, vanishing into the miasma of hyperspace. He keyed the order into his arm, the dull whine of the cloaks engaging echoing through the bay from engineering, filling his ears with background noise. A few moments later, he felt the Sadow fleet bolt away as well, the newly commissioned ships sleek and responsive to their crews.

He stood there, looking out into the bleak space, the dull curve of QiRool VI at the edge of his vision, a million stars so far ahead of him that it was difficult to make sense of them. Everything and nothing in equal measure.

At the edge of the void, Muz smiled.

If you haven't already checked out the report showing the full results of the New Ties event with Tarentum, you should go check it out here: https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/news/reports-tarentum-consul-report-new-ties-results-and-final-words

That report not only shows how the event ended, but it is more poignant because it also has the retirement for Frosty as Consul of Tarentum.

Naga Sadow as a whole wrecked absolute face on this event. I am super proud of the clan, and of everyone who came out to fight the good fight on this one. Despite having a smaller clan than Tarentum, we still managed to field more members to do stuff, and our average points for those members was outstandingly high. I know that I can harp on and on about things revolving around competitions and wars and such, but that is honestly because I know what we can do when we are motivated, and this result shows that in earnest.

Good job, everyone. First (and second) round is on me.

Speaking of which, look for a couple of fun-based comps coming out from my office in the next few days. I know that we just went through a grind in new ties, so these are going to be lighthearted and silly sorts of things, something to help us have fun and decompress after such a good campaign. Also, it gives you guys something to do while Raikou and I mull over how to reward all of you fine people who kicked so much tail in the New Ties.

Question time!

Bentre asks: "Okay, Muz, how do you suggest a member develop fictional direction after hitting EQ1+?"

That is more of a "Ask the Muz" than "Ask the Quaestor", but a great question anyway. See, fictional direction can be a tricky thing, especially in the equite range, when you have a little power, but now are starting to come up against the rat race of other equites and the slap-happy elders. All too often, people come unmoored as they leave the Journeyman ranks, where all advancement was highly documented and the path forward was super clear. "Do X, get Y" of the knight trials (or the NFU equivalent) make sit a bit of a culture shock for those members who don't really know what to do next (and that can go double for the players themselves, but that is a whole other question.

What everyone should take a look at is the dynamic of the way the DB is broken apart. The journeymen is like grade and high school for our characters (age notwithstanding). They have a more or less rigid path to follow that teaches them the building blocks of a life going forward. Equites are where things get more like getting out into the work force. There is a lot of political machination and office intrigues that can go on as a result of the Equites who are driving toward more power, more access over their rivals. Think about how Anakin really wanted to be on the Jedi Council...because he wanted not only the rank of master, but the rights and access that came with it. More access could mean more power, more capacity for higher learning, better weapons, etc etc etc. So establish what exactly it is that your character wants, and start moving him/her toward it.

So that is the backdrop. What I really recommend is that you build yourself up a nemesis, a rival. I call this the Moriarty. This should be someone that you can't and won't kill outright for years, if ever. Sherlock Holmes had a villain in Moriarty, and while Holmes had many of his own adventures, complete with conflict and resolution, that threat, the great unsolvable was always looming in the background, the sort of overarching story that makes people keep coming back for more. What is important here is that you don't try to kill that moriarty for cheap thrills. The longer that you keep a villain around, the more powerful as a narrative device they become, as opposed to the countless 'Oh, another baddie of the month' sort of thing that makes us roll our eyes sometimes.

As a final note, if you love your character, make it hard for them. Let them lose sometimes. Let their plans fail, let them screw up and take one in the face. I know that we are all here to get away from our lives, to forget about the banality and drudgery of the lives we have built...and that makes it tempting to make your character always win, to make nothing ever go wrong for them... but that quickly becomes boring to write, and even more boring to read. Kinda like the guy in the office who only ever talks about what he's going to do if he wins the lottery.

Raikou asks: "When are we finally renaming our house to House Keibatsu? :P"

Nope, nope nope nope. Not gonna happen. Don't want it to happen. HMR is near and dear to my heart, and has a special place in the traditions of CNS and the DB.

So, as usual, thanks for reading through to the end of that wall of text. Let me know if I can help with anything, and watch over the next few days for the new comps.

Have fun!