Hi, everyone! It’s been far too long since my last Consul report, both in the narrative sense and in the sense that Mav probably isn’t happy that I’ve been slacking. :P So, without further ado, let’s get into it!

Clan News

• Taldryan's Clan storyline, Aggressive Expansion, continues this coming week. Join us as valiant Taldryanites band together against sinister forces within their own borders… again (but not the Collective this time!). You can read the fiction update for the next phase of Aggressive Expansion in its forum thread. When the competitions are approved by the various Dark Council staff, I’ll post links so you can all check them out.

• We haven’t forgotten about the Taldryan fiction anthology/newsletter that I mentioned in my reports earlier this year! Zxyl has been working on developing the format, and several members have already contributed pieces that we can feature in our first release. I hope to make that happen in Q1 of next year, if RL and DB circumstances allow.

Member News

• It is with a heavy heart, no small amount of trepidation, and various other nice-sounding phrases that I must announce the resignation of our Proconsul, Zxyl Taldrya Venzos, as of this coming Friday (November 27). Zxyl has assured me that he’ll remain active and involved in Taldryan, but feels that it’s time for him to step aside and allow someone else to take his place on the Clan Summit. As such, I will be opening applications for Taldryan Proconsul, the details of which I’ll cover in a separate news post because I haven’t finished updating the Google form yet. :P

• Xolarin included a very detailed description of what Taldryan’s members have been up to in his recent RM report, so have a look at that for full details.

• I’d also like to call attention to some exemplary contributions by our members outside of the usual competition fare. Appius and Aylin wrote two wonderful cooperative fictions involving some demons from Appius’ past, which you can find here and here. Aylin also contributed art to those stories, although I sadly don’t have links to those pieces. Meanwhile, Vodo Shanree and Crysenia have started a duo run-on, which you can find over on the forums.

#AskErin

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, so I figured it was about time that I answered some of your questions.

• Archenksov: #AskErin Who is your favorite Odanite and why is it me?

Your ever-appropriate collection of GIFs related to birbs and late-90s/early-2000s political dramas.

• Appius: #AskErin What have you been most proud of about Taldryan since you became Proconsul and then Consul?

The way Taldryan banded together during the last GJW, and the way that we’ve continued to strengthen those ties since then. Our members are breathing new life into our motto of “a brotherhood within a Brotherhood”, and it’s those bonds that make this place fun.

• Benevolent: #AskErin This solid substance, derived from pine trees, is used in a wide variety of applications; including chewing gum, playing stringed instruments, and as a flux in soldering electronics. (Please answer in the form of a question, in honor of Alex Trebek)

What is resin? RIP Alex Trebek. (I have since been informed that the answer is “rosin”.)

• Vodo Shanree: #AskErin when are you getting your Taldrya tattoo?

IC, probably already have. OOC, I dislike needles enough that getting a tattoo isn’t in my future, but if that ever changes a Taldrya tattoo will be high on the list.

• Dasha: #AskErin would you ever walk into Appius's office for any reason? If so, what will you do as an accidental victim of a glitter bomb?

To the first, no, because one of the perks of being Consul is that you get to call people into your office instead of having to walk all the way over to theirs. That said, if Erinyes did end up glitter-bombed, she’d probably find a way to gather it up and hit Appius with it.

• Zxyl: #AskErin So... What are your plans now? :)

All kinds of glorious and wonderful things, which you’ll be privy to when I discuss them with the Clan Summit in early December– OH WAIT

But seriously, most of what we’re doing until the end of the year is laid out in this report. Aggressive Expansion will continue into early next year. What happens after that is anyone’s guess, partly because Mav’s GM term is up then and I imagine there’ll be some kind of DB-wide shenanigans related to the succession.

Clan Activities

All running and upcoming competitions are listed on the Competitions page of the DB website. I encourage everyone to browse through that list to see if anything catches your interest. I'd also like to give special mentions to the following:

• Aggressive Expansion will have events running through mid-December, the details of which I’ll provide once the comps are approved.
• Zentru’la’s “Recruit a Mercenary” fiction competition for Taldryan members runs until November 30th.
• Appius has three competitions going for Ektrosis members: the Ektrosis Meme-Athon, Taking The Spotlight, and Back to Basics!. All three run until December 3.

That's it for this edition of the Taldryan Consul Report. Thanks for reading, and we'll see you next time!