I have known Shadow for years now and I am truly amazed at how he has grown into a truly great member. He has taken on the traits that I have grown accustomed to see come out of Clan Taldryan. It is truly great to see it when a member who has spent a long time learning from some of the best, becomes one of the best on his own.
I have truly been impressed with the leadership display put forth by Shadow in the past few months. He has taken not only a huge place in Taldryan as Proconsul, but has been working in the DB at large to make things better. He is an active administrator, taking care of the gaming tournaments week after week. He is a great advisor, looking at situations without bias and giving a fair take on everything. He is a great influence, urging those around him always to strive for the best. Most of all, he's hilarious, thrusting his way through IRC and beyond.
Shadow has one of those personalities that makes the DB unique. We are a huge melting pot of different types of people, and I think Shadow is in a class of his own. He has a way about him that makes it easy to trust him, to have faith in his abilities and overall, to like him as a person. I can't see anyone that would be better to fill Kir's shoes in Taldryan than Shadow. He always has, and always will continue to do an excellent job.
It's not often that a member outside of the DC is elevated to the ranks of the Elders. When they are though, you know that the person is one-of-a-kind. Shadow has earned his right to move out of the Equite class.
We are proud to have Shadow on our side, and today, I am proud to elevate him to the Rank of Dark Side Adept.
Compiled recommendations:
From Consul Kir Taldrya Katarn -
Shadow has been an important part of Clan Taldryan for a long time, but it is only in the last year that he has moved to inessential. Starting actually before his promotion to Primarch, Shadow had started to move beyond the narrow view of Brotherhood leadership and into the wide ranging ideas and views necessary for great leadership at the Clan level. Before I mention that however, I need to again mention his incredible time at the helm of House Dinaari. The longest reigning Quaestor in that House's history, he set it up for the success it had in the past and continues to have to this very day. Without his tenure, the outcome of many competitions could have been very different.
Now we can move on to his efforts in the past six months in the position of Proconsul. Previous to him taking over, I had one of the greatest members of the Brotherhood (Sharad) as my Proconsul, so he stepped into some very large shoes. But he stepped into them seamlessly and immediately become crucial to the Clan's success. Because of his long past with Taldryan, he intimately understands the Clans character and the personality of all of its members. I can't think of any one person who better personifies Taldryan than Shadow, and he takes that into his leadership. Beyond that, he has matured to a point that some time ago I wouldn't have thought possible. He is still the sarcastic, thrusting Shadow, but at the same time he moves forward with seriousness on important issues.
His creativity has been an unbelievable help to me in moving this Clan to new heights. He was heavily involved or in charge of the Tal Times, the new Dark Jedi Trials, the Land Grants, Activity Trackers, and numerous other projects. Even with projects he wasn't directly involved in, he consulted with me on how to move forward. He has also been critical in helping me with timelines for when things should be done or started, and what should be moved to the backburner.
What I've described so far is what he did in his role as a Consular assistant, but Shadow has gone above and beyond. He is virtually a second Consul for the Clan, especially in the past two months. With my availability decreasing, Shadow stepped up big time and basically lead the Clan. I would work on some side projects and talk on IRC, but Shadow took over most of the day-to-day management of the Clan. I don't think I have to tell anyone that he did an incredible job. And he wasn't just in charge of the normal days, he personally lead the Clan through the Obelisk Rite of Supremacy, which Taldryan absolutely dominated due to Shadow's work. Add to this that he is Magistrate to the Commander of the Guard, Magistrate to the Sith High Warrior, and Magistrate to the Obelisk High Commander, and you can tell that the entire Brotherhood respects his work and that his efforts are in high demand.
Shadow is a huge part of Clan Taldryan, and its most important leader. He has served incredibly in all of his positions, and his time as an Obelisk Primarch was marked by nothing but total and absolute success, for both the Clan and him personally. He has ensured Taldryan's success, consulted with several Dark Council members as their Magistrates, and most importantly helped many Brotherhood members have fun with this club. For all of his efforts recognized above and those too numerous to list, Shadow deserves to be promoted to Dark Adept.
From Aedile Duga:
Shadow has been a key figure for me since I returned to a higher activity level at the beginning of this year. His leadership of House Dinaari was superb. Good reports, competitions, direction, help, everything you could want. He's been Taldryan Proconsul for quite awhile now, continuing his excellent leading just on a larger scale now. Shadow has helped so many clan members by simply directing them on what to do to progress in the Brotherhood, how to get into the gaming areas, and so many other essential things. During the Rite of Supremacy he has led Taldryan to victory turn after turn. He's been on email, on IRC, and on the servers representing us and helping us get involved. This is exactly what you would want a true leader to do.
Personally, Shadow has been there to help me learn the ins and outs of the Brotherhood and in leadership. He's always around to help me and the rest of the Summit out when we need it. It's good to have someone you can trust and rely on to work with and guide you.
For Shadow's time and great efforts in the Brotherhood, I believe he is worthy of a promotion to Dark Adept.
From Aedile Chaosrain:
Shadow has been leading Clan Taldryan in the midst of Kir's semi-LOA, and he has been doing a damn god job. Shadow has led Taldryan to a dominating victory in the Obelisk Rite of Supremacy. He is one of the main reasons we did so well, he is almost always on mIRC to play and help all of our members. He always tries to teach Taldryan's newer members the finer parts of Jedi Outcast. He is an unstoppable force in Capture the Flag. Aside from being PCON of Taldryan, Shadow is: Magistrate to the Obelisk High Commander, Magistrate to the Sith High Warrior, and Magistrate to the Commander of the Guard. That is a ridiculous amount of stuff for one person to do, and he does it, which is a little scary and a lot of awesome. Shadow is also an awesome leader. He has always worked hard to help any and every member of clan Taldryan to the best of his abilities. He is always on mIRC, and he is usually working on something or thrusting. His fun attitude is a big reason I am still in the DB. This is why I know Shadow deserves Dark Side Adept. Congratulations Shadow, finding a more worthy person is an almost impossible task.
From Pyralis:
Just over a year ago, had you asked me "Who is Shadow Taldrya," I would have said "One of those l337 JO players from Clan Taldryan." Had you asked me this same question a few months earlier, I would have answered: "Who?"
Today, knowing Shadow pretty well, I find it odd that I had never known him prior to the Fifth GJW. It is a difficult task to know everyone in the DB, I suppose, but I am glad that Shadow is one person for whom I have happened upon to be an exception to the shrinking "Pyr-doesn't-know-who-you-are-list" in the last 12 months. My first real opportunity at working with Shadow came with the "Training" idea that he and I negotiated after the GJW had ended. During the GJW, Taldryan had shown a clear supremacy in the areas of JO and JA, and I wanted to try and bring some of that talent to Clan Tarentum through training. This is when I learned that Shadow was actually a really capable and rational member of the Dark Brotherhood. That was about 9 months ago.
Since then, Shadow and I have grown closer and closer, getting to know each other's personality, goals, and capabilities pretty well. Today, Shadow Taldrya is one of my foremost advisors on pretty much everything that I'm connected with within the Brotherhood of the Dark Jedi. We find, often, that we agree on many issues. However, we also disagree on a number of things. In either discord or concurrence, I believe that we both gain valuable insight into any situation through discussion or analysis of facts. Shadow keeps me in line and confirms that I'm not insane, but if I am seriously missing the point, he's there to offer an alternate perspective which helps me understand things even better.
Beyond Shadow's role as an advisor, however, he also serves as a gaming competition administrator, having replaced SHW Bloodfyre for the last several months of the Sunday Tournament and Tuesday/Thursday gaming events. Most often he is reliable and punctual in his work, maintaining a high standard of both quality and impartiality during his work with these competitions. He is a good judge in this regard, able to make decisions with regard to conduct with a fair hand.
This doesn't even mention the role that Shadow plays as Proconsul of Clan Taldryan. Clan Taldryan is arguably one of the best, most active clans in the Dark Brotherhood. You don't achieve this status without good leaders. Shadow is one of the people who have helped shape and maintain this leadership, especially during the occasional extended absences of Consul Kir. Shadow fills in with skill and determination not normally expected of a #1 on the Clan Summit. He often speaks with the knowledge, skill, and vision of a Consul while maintaining a necessary, strong connection with the general membership at large. His IRC activity is phenomenal and his reports have been very consistent and timely in the last couple months.
Shadow Taldrya is a model for all who serve with him in Clan Taldryan. He maintains a high level of activity, participates in the same activities that he expects his members to partake in, and leads with great experience and determination. Shadow Taldrya has risen to the level higher than most Clan Summits can achieve. Today, we recognize him as a Dark Side Adept of the Order of the Obelisk. Congratulations!
From Quaestor Benevolent:
I don't truly know where I should begin talking about Shadow. I believe that without Shadow, we wouldn't be where we are today. He excels in so much in the Dark Brotherhood, and willingly gives his best for Taldryan.
If you've ever been on IRC for any length of time, you've likely met Shadow. He has a very unique personality; not afraid to speak his mind, but manages to make us all laugh.
It's no secret that Shadow is a very skilled Jedi Outcast player. I can give first-hand tales of how it is absolutely devastating to be on the wrong side of his bryar pistol, or how interesting it is to watch him take on superior numbers and succeed in a game of capture the flag. His skill inspires our clanmates, and gives one a sense of pride to have him fighting for our side.
I had the very fun experience of serving as Aedile under him for eleven months. He was full of ideas, and had the experience to pull them off. He seemed to have a new change for the site almost weekly. His ideas always came off as something he believed would truly benefit the house or clan in some way. He is one of those people who really believes in the betterment of his clan, and worked hard to achieve that.
From Quaestor Dark Sabre:
Shadow is a pillar in Taldryan and is often the only thing holding the rest of the Clan up. He is highly respected by everyone and not just because he's a great guy, though he is. He's also one of the most competent leaders in the Brotherhood, easily. Over time he has accumulated years of experience in charge of various units and he has always handled it well. He is never hesitant to be a mentor and helps everyone in the Clan, including me and the other House Summits. Often, he'll bring issues to us that have been voiced to him, simply because he is so easy to talk to and demand our attention to them.
He knows exactly what to do in pretty much every situation and is an excellent planner. During the Obelisk Rite of Supremacy in which we recently emerged victorious, Shadow was our primary leader and helped us along to victory. He knows how to push the right buttons (both in bed and in our minds :P) and easily motivated the Clan to push forward, even when activity seemed stagnant. I believe that he is more than worthy of a promotion to Dark Side Adept, a reward that has been a long time in coming. Congrats!
Aidan Kincaid, 2005-10-12 22:00:00 UTC