The responsibility and time requirements of a sitting Grand Master are hard to describe. Those of us who have held the position are uniquely aware of the sacrifices and challenges that come with the job. Family, work, travel, and all of the other life events are accompanied by your duties as Grand Master. Sneaking a break at work to answer an emergency email, checking whatsapp while on vacation to make sure a scandal does not turn into a riot, and running competitions during the birth of your children are just a few little examples of what a Grand Master does.
Muz has served at the summit of our club for six years. This effort is unequaled in the history of our club and putting it into perspective is nearly impossible. I don’t think I or anyone in our club can accurately thank Muz for his dedication and sacrifice to our club, but a second Golden Lightsaber is a start.
Muz, I’d like to thank you for all that you have done and all that you will continue to do for the Dark Brotherhood in the future.
GM Pravus
I have been a member of the Brotherhood for about eleven years. This as it would turn out be around the same time Muz Ashen joined the club. Six of the last eleven years of this club has seen Muz sitting upon the Iron Throne. To say Muz has been responsible for shaping the experiences I’ve had these last several years would be a massive understatement. Muz has overseen some of the biggest changes this club has ever undergone. Today I am here to lend my voice along with others to thank him for years of excellent service.
Anyone who has served as a leader knows what a rough gig it is. The role of Grand Master is the position that faces the most challenges. For every decision made, there are people who oppose it. To take the role of Grand Master, you need a iron clad will and a strong ability to look past the complaints that will arise no matter what you do. To do this for a continued six years, is something that most people in this club would have been broken by.
Muz has had to make many hard calls in his six years. None taken rashly, and none without reason. And without a doubt, each taken with the betterment of the club in mind. This club forged ahead thanks to Muz’s blood, sweat, and well not tears because Muz doesn’t cry. He does give 110% every day to making this club as amazing as possible for its members.
Several years ago Muz offered me the chance to run Scholae Palatinae. It is an opportunity I have enjoyed every single day. Not once has Muz ever turned away from listening to my issues. Not once has he ever made a request that was unreasonable to fill. He continues to be supportive of all the leaders of this club. He continues to be an example of a diligent work ethic.
These six years have seen Muz run massive Vendettas, he has been a leading charge in many great new additions to the club, his skills of graphics continued to be tapped, and not once has he ever shown even the slightest sign of faltering. This club simply wouldn’t be where it is at now without him. Now it is time to thank him, once again for his outstanding work. And more importantly congratulate him as he reduces the stress in his life a considerable amount. There isn’t really a reward we can give that reflects just how much he has done.
So thank you Muz. Thank you for the opportunities. Thank you for the guidance. And thank you for never taking the foot off the gas as you drove us to a better place.
Xen’Mordin Vismorsus
Quaestor of Scholae Palatinae
I can hardly believe that it was two years ago that I returned to the Brotherhood, right at the start of the Crusade. In that time, Muz has shown the dedication and determination that no doubt marked all six years of his term, an incredible feat. Muz’s fortitude as Grand Master will never be duplicated.
Muz may not be perfect, but none of us are. Yet what makes him so special, and what will keep him a part of the Brotherhood for years to come, is his dedication and love of the club. For that, and for an incredible six years of time at Grand Master, congratulations on your second Golden Lightsaber, Muz!
~Mav
I am what I like to call a Muzennial. My entire career as an active member and leader in this club has revolved around Muz. So, I don’t really have anyone else to compare him to. So instead, I will just speak on the man who I have followed, for better or for worse, the past 5 years.
To be honest, it did not start out well. My first real taste of Grand Master Muz was the great de-clanning. It sucked for us, trying to ride our momentum, and as I was only a rookie Battleteam Leader at the time, I was furious when I saw his rejection e-mail to our re-clanning proposal. So we put our heads together and re-tweaked the proposal, and to my surprise, Muz gave us the privileged to be one of two units to be re-clanned.
I didn’t fully grasp the gravity of the move back then, but appreciate how hard the move was, looking back with the knowledge I now posses. That took juevos (as Muz would say). And Muz has shown, time and again, that he is not afraid of anything. If he thinks something is in the best interest of the club, he doesn’t just talk about it, he does it. He executes. And he does not do so blindly; always consulting those he chooses to keep as his cabinet.
From the re-clanning, it still was a rocky path. Throughout the Vendetta’s and Wars Muz orchestrated, day by day I found myself in a position where I needed to speak with him privately on the side in regards to the progress of Arcona and its members. Even on a Sunday evening, probably one of the few times he had some time to his family and self, he would sit with me for hours discussing issues I had. This is something he did not have to do. But this is just one of many things that makes him such a truly unique leader.
He also manages to make friends with the membership. I had one member tell me they were afraid of the GM, and I actually blinked a few times and was like, “huh?” It’s just Muz; the other day we were doing shot-contests on G+, he’s just a regular guy. In an online club, where we sit behind our dossiers and IRC handles, it’s hard to forget that we are real people making very real sacrifices.
The Golden Lightsaber is the ultimate award our club can give out. Muz has sacrificed more of himself for this club than anyone I have ever seen. Sacrifice is the core of leadership, and I really can’t say it enough. As a leader, I’ve tried my best to follow his example, and understand that anytime I’m feeling stressed as a Consul, I just need to multiply that by ~7.5 times and I’ll get the stress he handles on a daily basis. Muz also has a lot of projects in the works. He is very detail oriented, and doesn’t do things half-assedly. He stands behind the people he trusts with tasks, and when he releases a project, it’s typically polished and ready to go. I know he puts a lot of pressure on himself to get these projects done, but I hope he can realize that the projects are not what make the GM. It’s the will to stick with those projects, and to be a leader, that really separate him from the rest.
Muz is not the perfect GM. Nor do I have the credentials to say he’s the “best”. At the end of the day, words are wind. To put it simply, there is simply no one I’ve met in my entire time in the Dark Jedi Brotherhood who cares more about the club, it’s members, and it’s health. Even if something wasn’t his job, he still dropped what he was doing to fill in where needed. Multiple times he has stepped in to help a struggling Herald team and used his uber-gfx skills to get us our reward robes done. It’s the little things like that that get overlooked, but ultimately add up to what makes Muz such an inspiring leader.
So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, Muz, for waking up everyday and putting up with us. Thank you for making the hard decisions that we sit here safely critiquing. We don’t always agree, but you always have, and will continue, to have my support.
Congratulations. You deserve this, and much more.
Wally, Consul of Clan Arcona
I’ve been around long enough to see a couple of GMs, but by far the most time has been under Muz. He has always struck me as a “professional” member of the Brotherhood, acting like an adult and a leader and selecting a staff that largely does the same. It sets the tone for the entire club, and I believe it’s the main reason we have survived as long as we have. The stability of having a leader that sticks around for six years has allowed us to flourish and pursue the long term, large impact projects that would not have survived a parade of new GM faces or even just one inexperienced GM.
Tarentum has had a rough time during Muz’s tenure, but he has been supportive of us through the toughest of times. He held my feet to the fire when I needed it and let me do my own thing when I needed that instead. He never gave up on us even when many voices around the Brotherhood said we should be closed or merged. It is because he was willing to take a chance on us that we are still here today, and I can’t thank him enough for that.
The Brotherhood as a whole has been improved dramatically from what it was six years ago. Do you remember when we had to track rosters and activity manually in Google Docs? When we awarded promotions based on when we kind of just felt like someone had done “enough” work? When you could only choose from three or four kinds of robes? When Vendettas didn’t have entire professional quality comic books published for them? I can’t say Muz is singlehandedly responsible for all of that, but he has played a direct part in almost all of the major improvements over the years and it has made the club feel like it belongs in the modern internet, rather than being some 20 year old relic from the bad old days of BBS’s and 2400 baud modems. JaM3z might write most of the code for that stuff, but Muz is the one who saw that it was necessary and pulled us kicking and screaming away from our old ways.
The Golden Lightsaber is the best thing we have to give Muz. He’s already got one, but we can’t make up a new award without his approval. So I am proud to recommend that we give him another one. Thanks for everything, Muz. It has been a great six years.
-- Scion Altera
After having recently spent a year or two in the Rogues, I immediately noticed two things on my return. 1: The DJB had advanced a lot while I was away. 2: Muz was still the GM. The most valuable resource any of us has is time, and Muz has dedicated a lot of it to the DJB. The popular sentiment nowadays is a sort of armchair GM-ing where the clarity of hindsight, and the freedom from having to answer to 7 bickering unit leaders each with conflicting interests leads one to conclude "I could do it better." The truth is that you probably couldn't.
Leadership in this club is tough, and the job isn't any easier the higher up you get. For the DJB to survive, we must be constantly evolving to better suit the members of today and the potential members of tomorrow. During his time as GM, Muz has overseen some of the most radical changes that the club has ever seen. The DJB of today has a new and vastly different character sheet system. The Clans were downgraded to Houses and had to fight back to Clan status. The Dark Jedi Brotherhood has a Light side house. So many of these changes have been met with something that ranges from skepticism to vitriol. And yet Muz never backed down.
I can't say that I've agreed with everything Muz has done, but I can say that I genuinely believe that his heart has always been in the right place. He loves this club, and he's bled for it. The DJB that exists today is not the DJB Muz inherited when he stepped into the GM seat, and it's a better place for it.
Muz is already Grandmaster, and he already has a Golden lightsaber. There isn't any award to give to him that he doesn't already have. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing left to give Muz is our thanks. Thank you for the hundreds - thousands - of hours you have spent to making the DJB a better place. Thank you for mediating a set of Consuls that have a hard time agreeing on anything. Thank you for all the cool graphics. Thank you for making the hard choices and tough decisions.
-Vivackus Kavon di Plagia
Six years is a long time. It's an impressive achievement in a club where most successful tours of duty are measured in months rather than in years. Muz's greatest impact on this club does not arise from his longevity, though, but from his drive to constantly advance the Brotherhood. His time as Grand Master stradles two eras: one of bloated clans and an aging website, and the one he ushered in, sweeping away years of tradition. Today's Brotherhood is leaner, more agile, and better equipped than ever before to capitalize on its unique place online. The slow rollout of Possessions will add great features, but the foundation for future success has already been laid.
His impact will continue to be felt for years, too, because an entire generation of Brotherhood leaders has emerged for whom Muz is the only Grand Master they have ever known. His openness to members at all levels, willingness to discuss issues, and level-headed approach to, well, everything, will be the standard by which they gauge his successors. We wouldn't be where we are today without his steady, guiding hand. Thank you, Muz, for all of your work.
~ Dacien Victae di Plagia, Headmaster
Some members and leaders of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood need little said to prove their accomplishments. While those of us in the Master at Arms office cross check the medals earned in an Anteian Cross request, everyone is inherently aware of the legacy of a Grand Master. An addendum – our Grand Master for the past eight years. My entire career here seems tied to the leadership of Sarin and Muz or Muz and Sarin. I became a Consul with Muz’s blessing…three times. I was Headmaster for two years and am now Master at Arms, all with Muz’s support and encouragement.
Muz is, in my opinion, an example of prime leadership at the topmost level. He cultivates a circle of advisors and trustees around him who propose, draft, and market, and he doesn’t step in until asked or to steer a careening conversation back on track with a firm declaration. He speaks openly and honestly with all members in his regular reports while at the same time maintaining the essential light hearted nature of this somewhat silly online fan club through hilarious and/or seductive Star Wars themed images and news.
As his Headmaster, I never remember Muz interfering or pushing his way in until I requested his assistance. As Master at Arms, he has always been open to ideas and how best to communicate what can often be a controversial discussion surrounding medals and promotions. He has guided us through multiple vendettas large and small, most based off of plot outlines he generated or deeply coordinated. Over the past several months, as this moment approached, Muz started to rely more upon those around him, but he has never relented in his duties or refused to proffer advice. At the same time, he continues to keep himself grounded. He will pop onto SWTOR to raid or host a G-Hangout session to draw Brimstone-Dooku. He creates lightsabers and avatars along with the warehouse of items still to be unveiled.
Muz is a firm guiding hand who has worked tirelessly (even when it was “wife time”) to keep what is great about the DJB while also steering us toward the new dawn that is new filmes, television, canon, and overall new Star Wars. He’s lasted this long for a reason, and without question Muz Ashen not only goes down as one of the Brotherhood’s greatest, most impactful Grand Masters but also one of the largest influences on the joys and memories I have of this ever complicated brotherhood. Thank you, Muz, for years of sacrifice, turmoil, and success. There’s comes a point where one wonders whether a Golden Lightsaber is even enough to recognize your work. ~~ Dark Side Adept Aabsdu Dupar, Master at Arms
Just over 12 years ago Muz joined our online club. Three years later he was appointed as Herald, and has remained a part of the club's Dark Council ever since. Half of Muz's entire time in the Brotherhood has been as its Grand Master. What do you even award to someone for that kind of sacrifice and effort? After having gotten to know Muz, my first thought was of a nice bottle of whisky. Although, like all of our Sacrimental Awards, I'm sure he would already have a bottle of whatever we'd be giving to him sitting in his well stocked bar. (Seriously, if you ever G+ Chat with this guy ask him to show you his bar)
To say that Muz has left his mark on the Dark Brotherhood over the last six years would be an understatement. I doubt that even the combination of all of the recommendations which will be attached to this award will do justice to the amount of and impact of the projects that Muz has had a hand in during his tenure as Grand Master.
The most obvious of the changes can be seen by any member when they load the Club's home page. The web page of 2007 is long gone, replaced by a more streamlined and user friendly one, due in no small part to the long hours coding provided by James and guidance from Muz. A Light Side House was opened, providing existing and new members the chance to roleplay the "good guys" for a change. Club Societies have also taken on a new form in the past six years, a new ACC was created, the GMRG was changed, and a Shadow Academy Society was formed. Each of these are items which are visible to members shortly after joining, and can help to retain their interest in the club.
The Dark Crusade, a marathon 2 year long Vendetta, was the first event of its kind. Like all things, some people loved it and others tolerated it. It attests to Muz's ingenuity and desire to provide new opportunities for members to become engaged with our Club, despite the behind the scenes work required from him to run an event spanning 24 months and culminating in a Great Jedi War. Like many things the Dark Crusade was an experiment which we can all learn from to further improve the experience provided by the Dark Brotherhood.
Thank you for everything you've done Muz. It has been a pleasure to serve on your Dark Council, when we run into each other one day the first rounds on me.
-Valhavoc, Fist of the Brotherhood
The path of a Grand Master is riddled with hard choices, choices that can make or break the Brotherhood, and choices that may even appear to have no ‘right’ choice at all. Lots of people will recognize the impact Muz has made, but it’s making the right choices that eventually leads to change and eventually impact down the road. Making these hard, and sometimes impossible choices is incredibly tough, yet Muz has shown time and time again that he was able to make the necessary choices, trust and delegate to the right people, and help shape the Brotherhood into the club it is today.
Thank you for everything Muz. We would not be where we are today if it weren’t for you. It was a pleasure working with you.
James Lucius Entar Arconae
Seneschal of the Brotherhood
Muz has not been Herald or even on the staff in many years but it hasn't kept him from being active in the office. If it wasn't for the fact that we maintain a Herald activity spreadsheet, a lot of his contributions would go unnoticed, because Muz does not ask for credit or go out of his way to make sure they get listed. I usually write them in myself, and I know it's not a full list. He contributes to nearly (or even possibly every) aspect of the office. Muz served as a mentor to me over the last year as I took over the Herald office. He coached me on the office itself: how to approach difficult situations, give feedback, and a lot of support. This was my first year on the DC and I know it would not have gone as well as it did without his support. Over time as we got to work together I really got to understand his contributions, selflessness, and desire to see the DB successful not just now but in the future. Working with him brought about a lot of respect.
Some of the work he's done that most would not know about are actually small but needful things. The Call to Action banners for the war and crusade did not make themselves; Muz either completely created them himself or tag-teamed them because we needed one. For HSH we needed some more items to fill out all the days we had planned goodies, and he jumped at the opportunity, firstly in designing the much-talked about lightsaber from the Episode VII trailer that he named "Sleeper," as well as Ventilator and the new female robes/armor. A much-less known contribution would be several members' avatars that he took upon himself to put together without any prompting (or want for credit). But he didn’t stop there - he recorded a video to show how he creates the avatars so that others can do it as well. He’s done the same with lightsaber tutorials and even a recent robes tutorial. It’s wonderful because it’s never a “hey, look what I can do” - it’s always Muz trying to help out in some fashion, and perhaps even leaving behind a legacy.
I know there's many, many more items even I am not aware of or simply wouldn’t have the authority to speak on. Again, though, Muz hasn't been on the Herald staff in many years. Everything he has done for staff is all on top of what he has done as GM, which is monumental all its own. His talent deserves mad respect as does his desire to push the DB into a successful future, spending so many hours on DB work. I can't thank him enough for the support and contributions to the Herald office and ultimately to the DB itself.
Socorra, Herald of the Brotherhood
Muz, you beast of a GM, you. I’ve worked with you off and on in various capacities over your time as Grandmaster and you have consistently championed the the goals of driving this club forward; increasing its membership; and pushing for quality changes that keep it fun. You have always been an opinionated idea guy and those ideas didn’t always mesh with everyone else’s, forcing you to deal with the inevitable pains of leadership…the conflict. You handled that respectfully, pushed forward on things you felt strongly about, and conceded to others when appropriate. Leadership is hard because every action you take is judged harshly, yet you did it for 6 years! (Has it really been that long?) You can “retire” knowing that despite the hard decisions and occasional naysayer, you made many more members happy and content both directly and indirectly. I’m one of those guys. Thank you for your time and commitment to the position. Thank you for driving change. Thank you for keeping the Brotherhood a place that I can’t stay away from for too long. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute where I’ve been able to. You are awesome and this Golden Lightsaber is well deserved. Bork, bork, bork!
—Baxir Vol
Grand Master Declan Roark, 2015-02-24 09:26:52 UTC