The thing that I like the most about being a genuine old fart of the DB is getting to watch people grow over the course of their careers here. Watching Neophytes become Journeymen and Journeymen become Equites. For most, that's the path they walk. For some, the truly excellent, that path has one more stop along the way: Equite to Elder. TuQ’uan Varick di Plagia, di Plagia, wearer of the hat, is one of the greatest members I have had the honor of serving with in my long career. From the day he got her he has exhibited nothing but the very best that can be expected from both a member and leader in the Brotherhood. He was so damn good that he actually warped Plagueis canon around him, as we had to fundamentally shift the place of NFU's within the Plagueis in-character culture because we had this NFU character in leadership and we knew he wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

The numbers since his last promotion 20 months ago have continued to show his high level of performance. 1 of every award (save a Grand Cross) between the Anteian Cross and Ruby Scepter, 335 competition entries, 163 competition crescents (placing at a 48.6% clip), 541 Clusters of Earth, 52 Clusters of Graphite, 2 Scrolls of Foundation, 1 Scroll of the Master, 26 Vendetta seals, a third place finish overall in Pro Bowl VI, second place in the Ascending Confederacy House Feud, third place in the Plagueis vs Taldryan Clan Feud, and first place overall in Pro Bowl VII. All in line with his lifetime numbers that I recently quoted in his Ruby Scepter recommendation in June. More important has been his leadership, stepping back into the role of Quaestor a week before the 2022 Pro Bowl and demonstrating the preternatural leadership ability that he showed as Proconsul and through his work serving on various DC staffs. Plagueis has a reputation for "showing up" when it really matters, and it's easy for an outsider (or even an insider really) to take for granted the fact that it continues to happen. The amount of work, however, that goes into this from the leadership of our Clan is absolutely monstrous and this burden falls most directly on the shoulders of our Quaestors. These are the closest level of the summit to the rank and file member and are the ones that are the "boots on the ground" so to speak. Since he came back to position of Quaestor, Plagueis has managed to hit or exceed a 66% participation rate in every major, scheduled event competition we have participated in. Without TuQ's work keeping his members informed via his monthly reports and engaged with some of the best one on one focus and time that I've ever seen in my over two decades in the Brotherhood, there is literally no way that our Clan would be anywhere near the levels of activity that we see today. As an illustration, I'll partially quote from the analysis on the Plaguies activity metrics sent to us from the Council: "Every summit member is producing content and opportunities for members to participate. That's the difference between a functioning unit and a thriving unit." At least for the Tyranus half of our Clan, that comes down to the work that TuQ'aun does every day.

TuQ's lifetime numbers stand him in good stead with those that have reached the rank of Elder within our club, but I was one who always knew that he was the kind of member that could one day reach that goal. While him being a sneeze short of the 60 thousand earned experience mark, having participated in 779 overall competitions, along with years of service to both Clan and Brotherhood might be what some people look at and judge him worthy of being an elder, I knew from the moment I met him that he was. It just took the time between then and now for TuQ to put up the numbers and service history that made it quantifiable. I have said for years that leadership in the brotherhood is about service not status, and there is none better at illustrating that than TuQ. As I said, I knew this man would be an elder someday from the moment I met him. I'm just happy to have been able to hang around long enough to be the one to write this recommendation when that day finally came.

Master Selika Roh di Plagia, 2023-08-18 21:29:56 UTC