Celahir is a pillar of Arcona. He is, for all intents and purposes, one of the primary reasons for Arcona’s continued success, and I am honoured to be writing out a recommendation for him. Wally has taken the liberty of detailing in great detail what Celahir has achieved over the years in Arcona. Consider this a preamble.

I remember Celahir’s first words when I joined the Clan back in ‘09 as a lowly little DJK, “If you need any help, my door is always open.” And consult him for help I did. An awful lot. Celahir had recently been made Proconsul of Arcona, and the way he led was not necessarily a new way, but it was an effective way; he approached members in need of guidance, and always sought to help people, whatever their woes may have been. This may seem like an obvious thing, but it is often forgotten in the grand scheme of Brotherhood’s hierarchy and bureaucracy. I like to think of Celahir as an innocent within such a political picture. He is only in it for the people. That’s all for which he’s ever been in the leadership game. To help others, not himself. It was this caring mentality that brought him the position of Consul on the back end of Dash’s two-year tenure. And it was this caring mentality that helped him succeed in such a role. He revolutionised Arcona, and set the foundation of what Arcona is today. He was the beginning of the new, revitalised, reshaped Arcona, and I am not afraid to admit it. Through the struggle and strife of declanning, through the internal fractures and fissures, Celahir remained cool, calm and collected, rallying his troops behind the single banner of Arcona, and displaying a truly remarkable sense of guidance and authority in the face of chaos.

Since his tenure as Consul, he hasn’t forgotten his mantra. He still pops up to help the summit out, and he’s always offering his services in coding. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see as much of him as we’d like due to real life constraints, but when we do see him, he never ceases to amaze. Sapphire Blades are generally awarded for ‘long-term service to an individual’s Clan or Brotherhood position.’ Well, Celahir has given his all to Arcona for two years. He has displayed an unfathomable amount of talent, and has never wanted for reward. His ‘positions’ in Arcona have been many; from Aedile, to Quaestor, to Proconsu, to Consul, however I think his true ‘position’ in Arcona is that which I mentioned at the beginning. He is a pillar, an example to all, a representative of what one should expect from the first Clan of the Brotherhood. A first Clan sculpted by Celahir himself.

He strives only to help his peers, and in that, he outdoes the lot of us. In an official capacity, Celahir has more than displayed long-term service to his position and/or Clan. In an unofficial capacity he has done so much more.

Irfan, you’ve more than earned it. Thank you for being you.

Keep it up.

~Wuntila Entar Arconae, Consul of Clan Arcona.

I feel like this award is long, long overdue. It’s hard to bring the past to the fold as the Brotherhood is very much a “live in the now” mentality. We would not have a now, though had it not been for the hard work and sacrifices of leaders that came before us, though, and it for that reason we honor something that should have been done a long time ago. Celahir Erinos is as much a part of Arcona as the letters that combine together to create the existence of the word. He has been here ever since I landed 3 years ago, and was always someone I looked up to as both a member and a leader. I had the pleasure of serving under him, and he was part of the reason I was made a Battleteam Leader in the first place. It is because of him I started my career with the Arconan Summit, so It would be silly of me to say I would be here had he not been willing to take a chance on me. I got to work with him in my first run as a summit member, and watched him handle what was probably one of the hardest things in the world for a leader to endure - de-clanning. It was a major hit to most of us, even though I was still new and didn't fully grasp the magnitude of it. In short, Celahir was at the head of Arcona in it's darkest hours, and somehow managed to keep us from losing ourselves in self-pitty. In a time where we hit our lowest low, and with the world dumped on his shoulders, Celahir shouldered it, and kept us strong and together. He helped me gain confidence in myself as a Battleteam Leader, helped me draft Reboot 2.0, which is still the standard in which Battleteams are treated in Arcona. A lot of the things he did were more subtle, but still highly enjoyable - he created the Arcona Quote Database, which stores our most humorous antics, and always finds a way to keep us cheerful. He was part of the massive driving force of the team that got Arcona re-clanned.

He was ready to step back up to bat when called on to become Quaestor of Galares, when we finally regained our Clan status. It was then that I got to work with him as an equal, his counterpart Quaestor in House Qel-Droma. It was a great feeling knowing that he was right there with me, and was extremely helpful in my growth as a leader.

Sacramental Blades are given for extreme dedication to a Clan. That is why I feel that Celahir is long overdue this honor. His continual work with the Arconan Website, maintenance/administration of the Clans Message Boards, are only small examples of what he does behind the scenes as a coder for the Brotherhood and Arcona as a whole. Most recently; he really stepped up with running Operation: Rolling Thunder, a clan-wide internal event that drew in a very impressive number of entries and provided members with much appreciated activities to participate in. He was awarded a Cythraul (Arcona's unique in-character pets that are awarded as a symbol of achievement) for his work with the Clan, and continues to work behind the scenes with improvements towards Clan Arcona. I have no doubt that Celahir will go down as one of Arcona's best. His heart is unmatched, he cares about every member, and puts everything he has into anything he does.

For this, I am honored to award Celahir a Sacramental Blade. Congratulations, brother, you more than deserve it :).

-Marick Arconae

Celahir Erinos is more deserving of recognition than anyone else I know currently in the Brotherhood. Time and time again, he's been overlooked in favour of flashier, louder flavours of the week who often fizzle out inside a year, but his commitment to Arcona has been felt from the first day he transferred in, a bright-eyed Journeyman from Tarentum. I must admit, I never thought I'd see the day when he was Consul, but he proved himself time and time over, leading them through the darkest period since GJW 7, never wavering in his commitment to the esteemed Shadow Clan. Since then, he's been quietly brilliant. Chugging away behind the scenes, and what's more, people like him. He may not be the most visible leader Arcona's always had, but he has a good, lasting friendship with every single person of import in that Clan and, as Marick said, it is a heinous offence that he has been overlooked this long. Traditionally, Sacs are given out for lasting commitment over a long period of time, or spurts of pure brilliance during vendettas. Celahir has done both, and deserves this and much, much more. Well done, little brother. Keep on showing them how it's done ;) - Dash

I've worked with Celahir twice now, both times as his Aedile. His right hand man. The first time, it was when he took over from Legorii as Quaestor of House Qel-Droma. Under his leadership, HQD slowly became the powerhouse it is today. Our combo reports were the talk of the Clan...and of the DC. Namely after Muz told us to be less rude. But, people actually looked forward to reading our reports. Strange that...But I digress. Celahir helped me with my confidence as a leader, giving me projects and confiding in me on multiple issues. Alas, I left our partnership then to take over as Quaestor of Galeres. Where I then worked with him as a peer, organising competitions and encouraging the membership. The second time I worked with Celahir was once again as his Aedile. This time for House Galeres. Celahir once again relied on me, trusted me and generally made me work harder and harder. I thank him for it, because it enabled me to actually deal with the responsibility and be able to work under pressure. Under him, both Qel-Droma and Galeres were strengthened. Qel-Droma especially. But Irfan has done so much more for Arcona and the DB. He served as Consul for a time, as well as doing coding work. Celahir is a friend, a compatriot and an example of the selflessness that is expected from a truly great Arconan. As such, I'd like to thank him for his efforts, his dedication and his awesomeness.

Sanguinius Tsucyra Entar Quaestor of House Galeres

Ah Celahir, the man who can do it all. Honestly, I think I have seen him participate in almost every field within the Brotherhood both competitively and in terms of leading and helping out, and the thing which truly sets him apart from many of us mere mortals is his ability to do things well. He doesn't do things half-heartedly, instead throwing himself into everything that he can do. Be it competing to a high level in a wide variety of events, to offering his expertise in coding to those both within the Clan and to the Brotherhood as a whole, he has been an outstanding member whose dedication deserves a fitting reward. A nice guy in the bargain, Celahir really is an example to everyone of what the ideal member looks like; fun, willing to get stuck in and more than capable of offering help to those who need it.

Irfan, this is just a small part of the thanks that we can all give you, but I hope you realise that you have more than earned this. Congratulations my friend, keep on trucking.

-Nadrin Erinos Arconae

Most of Celahir's accomplishments came before my time, but I'd like to mention those that I had seen or been a part of. The day I joined, the Test of Lore had problems and I was getting pretty frustrated with it, so I came onto IRC for advice. I wasn't expecting much - being a former codemonkey I know these things take time, people have to be dragged online to fix problems or they don't have necessary permissions, etc. Well, to my surprise, Celahir PMd me shortly after I hopped on, and he fixed it right then and there. No waiting, no teeth pulling, no running around in circles or wading through red tape. Even though I had been frustrated nearly to the point of just giving up on the place, after talking with Celahir and watching him fix everything on the spot, I was extremely impressed with the dedication that he had and it reflected on everyone in DB. Working with him made me want to stick around and find out more and meet more people.

The stars (or the code) must have been aligned that day because I ended up in Galeres right under Celahir, my Quaestor. I quickly learned that his dedication above was merely par for the course. It was a really crazy time, just before GJWX, and everyone was getting into war-mode. School had also started for many, including Celahir. But yet he managed to make a crapton of time for me to teach me about DB and Arcona, Galeres and Soulfire. I was fairly high-maintenance, so that was no easy task. The Arcona Summit tends to help each other out with new members, tag-teaming on different subjects or just helping in general, and Cel was no exception. He was a friendly face, always willing to chat or answer questions. A year later, he still is, in fact.

During the war, Celahir was a monster of activity, not just in the events, but in motivating his members to participate and being there for them if they need help or if problems came up. Seeing this dedication in action inspired me to participate for sure. Leaders lead by example and he did this very well, and helped secure a first place win for Arcona. It was my first war in the DB, and he helped make it an excellent experience, so much so that I am still here a year later and helped Arcona rock the next one. Thank you for all you've done, Cel, you deserve this award and more. :)

~Socorra Erinos, Quaestor of House Qel-Droma

Celahir’s Sapphire Blade is long overdue. Others have already spoken about his abilities as a leader, so let me instead add some of the personal things we have worked on in the past. When I first met him as a Brotherhood member in ‘09, the Great Jedi War was in full swing. Things were tight and scary, and we all needed to do everything we could if we were going to pull it out. Irfan came to my attention first and foremost when he helped us parse some of the new rules put in place mid-War, helping us find a way to eventually create a tactic that gave us Team Gaming and with it, the War. More than his leadership, it is those flashes of brilliance that I appreciate more than anything in Irfan, and what makes him such a valuable member. In the Tenth Great Jedi war, it was Celahir who had all Star Wars books downloaded and ready on his computer, searchable on a moment’s notice in case it was necessary for the codebreaker (it was). When the prestige system was introduced, it was Celahir who helped discover much of its inner structure (including uncovering serious flaws that we managed to get fixed). He likewise was one of the people on the forefront of creating many of our promotion documents. Being a coder in addition to a general problem solver, and a nice guy to boot, Celahir has again and again proven his long term value as a member. For this, he deserves a Sapphire Blade.

-Timeros Caesus Entar Arconae, Rollmaster Arcona

Wuntila Zratis Entar Arconae, 2012-11-22 09:57:39 UTC