The entirety of House Odan-Urr had assembled in the newly renovated great hall of the Arca Praxeum. The Jedi grew silent as their Quaestor, Liam Torun, rose to address the assembly. “Jedi of Odan-Urr, today is a historic day. For today hope rises from the ashes of war, and a new light shines in the darkness. It is fitting that this hope comes from a daughter of New Tython. I call this special session of the Council of Urr to order and recognize Jedi Knight Xaezhul.”
Taking the Quaestor’s cue, the Geonosian Knight Xaezhul proceeded down the center of the assembled Jedi toward the House Summit at the front of the assembly with his Padawan Lu’aisha Gresee following behind him. The Geonosian engineer could not stop his wings from beating a little with pride as he marched up to the Summit.
“Knight Xaezhul, you have business before this council?”
Xaezhul replied proudly in the distinctive clicks of Geonosian with a protocol droid off the to side of the assembly translating for the benefit of the audience. “I come before the House and this honored Council to present my Padawan Lu’aisha Gresee for the rite of Knighthood. She has completed her trials and it is time she took her place among us.”
The entire House Summit rose in unison with Liam to form a line across the front of the assembly with the elderly Quaestor at the center. “The Council of Urr having duly considered your request finds that Padawan Lu’aisha Gresee has passed her trials and is ready for Knighthood.” Liam gave a slight nod to Xaezhul to signal him to take his place with the summit to Liam’s right. Standing to Liam’s left, for the purpose of the ceremony was Lu’aisha’s battle team leader, Jedi Knight Turel Sorenn of the Knights of Allusis. Turel smiled and winked at Gresee as Xaezhul took his place in the line.
“Padawan Gresee, step forward and kneel.” The line at the front of the assembly pulled out and ignited their lightsabers in unison, holding their sabers in a vertical salute. Gresee moved directly in front of Liam, grateful she didn’t trip on her way up from the flood of emotion.
The assembled Summit minus Liam spoke the ancient words of the rite of Knighthood seamlessly as one through a combination of prior rehearsal and a bit of telepathy, “We are all Jedi. The Force speaks through us. Through our actions the Force proclaims itself and what is real. Today we are here to acknowledge what the Force has proclaimed.” The Summit and Xaezhul lowered their sabers downward as Liam stepped forward to the kneeling Padawan.
Liam methodically motioned his green saber down to Gresee’s right shoulder. “By the right of the council,” He moved his saber to her left shoulder. “By the will of the Force,” Liam moved the saber back to her right shoulder. “I dub you Jedi, Knight of House Odan-Urr.” The old Quaestor punctuated the last part of the rite by raising his saber. “Stand and be recognized, Jedi Knight Lu’aisha Gresee.”
As Gresee rose and turned to face the full assembly, the Summit deactivated their lightsabers behind her and joined the rest of the House in a well-deserved round of applause.
In the time I have known Lu’aisha Gresee since her return to House Odan-Urr in April she has never ceased to impress. Her drive to succeed and her zeal for improving not just the House, but the Brotherhood itself is nothing short of inspiring. Real life caused her to have to take leaves of absence in the rogues, but they didn’t stop her. Gresee returned with gusto, becoming a shining beacon of activity and a constant, invaluable presence to the House. It’s hard now to imagine the House mailing list or IRC channel without her, she is so tightly woven into the fabric of the Odan-Urr community.
She has easily exceeded the requirements for elevation to Jedi Knight: having served sixty six days in the rank of Padawan, acquired two merit awards, thirteen total Crescents, participated in twenty eight competitions, reached rank IV in the GRMG and completed a summit approved character fiction of over 3000 words. Since her last promotion Gresee has accumulated an Anteian Cross, a Crescent with Amethyst Star, a Crescent with Emerald Star, two Crescents with Quartz Star, two Crescents with Topaz Star and 115 Clusters of Fire.
Gresee’s most impressive attribute, beyond her concrete accomplishments is the maturity and desire to the improve the Brotherhood she has consistently displayed. Her efforts in conceiving, registering and promoting the #pazaak IRC channel as a recruitment vehicle shows a member well on her way in transitioning from consumer to producer, from participant to servant, and from follower to leader. This is what it means to be a Knight. It is this attribute above all her other accolades that makes her worthy of Knighthood and beyond.
It is my distinct privilege to present, for the first time, my newest sister in the Order, arise Jedi Knight Lu’aisha Gresee!
- Turel Sorenn, Knight-Commander, Battle Team Knights of Allusis
After a period of inactivity Lu'aisha came back to the House with a flurry of activity performing and placing in almost every competition she found to the time to enter. As an active member of the unit and a consistent presence on IRC Lu is an incredible credit to the Unit. I'm happy to say that Lu'aisha has put in a tremendous amount of effort regarding completing the requirements for her promotion, her fictions are often littered with a wealth of fantastic ideas that are always a pleasure to read. After discovering a love for Pazaak she went about creating an IRC channel specifically to attempt to associate those who play pazaak with the Dark Brotherhood (recently the channel received X Support and has also been advertised on the Pazaak website, if that doesn't show dedication to something you enjoy, I don't know what does!)
I truly believe that Lu has earned herself this promotion, it was my honour to have such a gifted apprentice and it will always be an honour to call her a friend. Welcome, Lu'aisha to the rank of Jedi Knight, HOU are lucky to have you
- Jedi Knight Xaezhul, Master
I have had the distinct pleasure of serving alongside Gresee as both a battleteam member and now as her Aedile. During this time she has shown nothing but motivation, drive and dedication. By being one of the DB's most prominent pazaak gamers, by creating a channel to support this love and passion, she has shown the initiative and will to help improve the club - and even the world around her - by reaching out and trying to improve communication and accessibility. Her activity in general is impeccable; with over 200 clusters of fire (162 of them since her last promotion!), a pendant of blood for winning Gorefest, two Crosses for project work and activity and a good handful of crescents for competition activity, you can tell immediately that not only is she a dedicated but also a competent member. I've also had the pleasure of reading just one chapter of her fiction (long enough to meet requirements alone); it's gargantuan and, frankly, an incredible piece of writing. She has also contributed to one of the biggest projects in Odan-Urr history; the Jedi Vocational Corp project took many pairs of hands to work on and she provided a string of missions for its beta test, contributing to its successful rollout soon after. When she is given a task, she completes it beyond all expectation. I look forward to the work she will put in at Knight, and inevitably beyond.
I'm proud to say that, of our batch of Knights, Gresee shines brightly amongst them already. While this recommendation may be a short one, I give it to you as a token of my esteem and my thanks for you being a member of our House. Rise a Knight of Odan-Urr. Congratulations - you've earned this.
- Mirus Hi'ija, Aedile of House Odan-Urr
Battlelord Mateus Kelborn, 2014-07-31 20:36:43 UTC