Three years ago this month Plagueis achieved something that many had thought we would never see: our returned to Clanhood. We, along with Taldryan, became the first houses to reach this milestone in quite some time. Many people in the Clan had worked tirelessly to see this moment over the course of many years, but the man who became the newly minted Consul of the reconstituted Clan Plagueis did a lot to bring us to that goal. I know that, through his actions, he reminded many of us that our dedication to the family we had built was of more import than any external tribulations we might have faced. I have no doubt that the vibrant Clan we all share today would not have continued without the welcoming manner and steady hand that he brought to the home we all have grown so fond of.

As a more recent newly minted Consul, I made it one of my goals to recognize the work that Montresor had done to help bring us to the place we find ourselves today. It gives me great pleasure to report that Montresor has been approved by the assembled di Plagia for inclusion in our ranks. While it is not the norm to recognize one who is not within our Clan, I hope that this exception truly underscores the import of this action we have taken. One's contributions to their Clan should not be negated or rendered unimportant by a desire to serve the Brotherhood at large as Montresor has done, both in the Chamber of Justice and in service to the Grand Master. I'm sure many of us, both within Plagueis and without, owe some thanks to the work he has done there. I know that Plagueis and its members have benefited greatly from things he has helped bring about, such as the Promotion Assessment Tool that he provided the inspiration for.

In the end, however, Montresor should now proudly stand with his fellow di Plagia. There are few who have deserved it more!

Master Selika Roh di Plagia,

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Warlord Montresor has served as the Left Hand of Justice, the Right Hand of Justice, and as the Praetor to the Grand Master throughout the entirely of his time as Equite 4. This has placed him in the unenviable position of working for two Grand Masters and handling the tedious tasks they do not want to do. This may seem like a trivial amount of work, but upon closer inspection it is obvious that Warlord Montresor handles more DJB level tasks than almost any other member within our club. This work included:

1. Serving as the Left Hand of Justice and defending our members from COJ Case 042 to COJ Case 051. This period in CoJ history required an immense amount of effort due to the extremely large backup of undecided cases within the Chamber. Monty immediately contacted those members on trial, devised a strategy with each, and developed a plea plan that resulted in an expedited and fair trial process. Monty's advice to many members led to reduced sentences and in some cases a verdict of non-guilty.

2. Writing the CoJ Procedures, Processes, and Hand handbooks. Grand Master Cotelin and Warlord Montresor identified multiple areas of improvement that were drastically needed within the Chamber of Justice. For years the CoJ had operated on relatively informal policies and rules that had not been captured in any meaningful ways. This failure within the system was made readily evident during 042 to 047 and became even clearer when they attempted to review previous trial history and decisions. Warlord Montresor took the lead in standardizing the CoJ's systems and developed new guides for the future generations of Hands and Justicars.

3. Editing, Writing, and Contributing to the largest changes to the Covenant since December of 2005. Grand Master Cotelin and Warlord Montresor identified several inconsistencies, vague, and confusing passages within the Covenant. Monty and Jac decided that the Covenant required a rewrite in order to ensure our members were protected and that our club was able to maintain good internet order and discipline(!). Over the past year the two of them have written, edited, and re-edited nearly the entire Dark Covenant. Their current revision is now with the Dark Council and undergoing final discussions before being presented to the Dark Brotherhood for ratification. This update will be the single largest effort within the CoJ since its inception and will provide our members with one of the most clear and protective charters of any online club.

4. Montresor developed our new policies for handling Clones. During 2015, the DJB saw an unusual high of clone members. We quickly realized that we did not have a standard policy for Clones that joined, but never progressed past the Test of Lore. In many cases and for many years, these Clones simply sat on our rosters and then in our Rogues without ever being addressed. Montresor quickly addressed this problem by engaging all new clone members, their leadership, and the JST upon each clone notification. His aggressive nature led to the removal of many clones, the clearing up of any misunderstanding new members had, and a dramatic reduction in clones throughout the club. 2016 has seen an enormous reduction in clones and a large part of that reduction is due in part to Monty's efforts.

5. He reads every report, grades, them, and obsessively keeps the GM and JST up to date on those little tidbits of DB activities. Monty has handled the "Best Of" report grading for the past year and has meticulously kept details on every report and award winner. This has also allowed him to serve as the eyes and the ears of the GM and JST and keep us informed when a report may be a little snarky, or a report comment may be a little questionable, or more importantly when a member/leader of our club is deserving of recognition. This may seem an unseemly and boring task, but it is actually incredibly valuable to both Jac and I.

The tasks above fall under the category of what we would expect from a hyper-active Hand of Justice and Praetor to the Grand Master, but to state that Monty only does the things that Jac and I do not want to do is an incredible understatement of the true value that he brings to our club. What Monty, like many of Elders, is capable of doing is identifying those little areas within the Dark Brotherhood that do not make sense, determining how to fix them, and then working with the people that know how to fix them to make it happen.

1. Monty is a system designer. No, I do not mean the Dark Jedi Brotherhood fictional system, I mean our systems and processes throughout the club. Monty evaluates or drop down menus, our administration pages, how we work on projects, and how we handle interactions with members and provides insight on how to improve each of those items. I cannot count or accurately describe the number of instances where Monty has engaged DC members with a simple "hey, this link will be better over here" and then the change is made because he is right. We have previously awarded him for the work he has done on objective promotion/leadership assessments, but it would be unfair not to mention the continuous and subtle suggestions he has made to improve upon it and other systems.

2. Monty makes your fiction better. Montresor has proof read over 250 pages of fiction over the past year in support of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood story line. You guys might not know this, but I can barely type a sentence without an editor. Monty has served as that editor, proof reader, and idea giver for the past year. His non-attachment from Clans allows him to look at each story and provide objective advice on how to improve our story. He is also an incredibly vocal advocate of seeing each Clan receive their fair share of fiction (we try).

3. Monty is your friend. No really, his is your friend. You will be incredibly hard pressed to find members within our club who have developed a network of colleagues and friends that reach as far and as wide as Monty. His ability to connect, interact, and work with this club's membership is a true example of his character. Jac highlights it below, but its just damn hard to find a better person in the club.

Lastly, I think it is only fair to cover the one area of Monty's work that we might not say is criteria for an Elder promotion, but puts his activity this year in perspective.

1. Monty is the best mobile gamer this club has ever had. Yes, this is not an Elder requirement, but for crying out loud, Monty is in the top 1% of all Star Wars Uprising Players. He has a lightsaber. Like 12 people have lightsabers in the world. It is stupidly insane and is further quantified in the 12 Diamond Crescents, 36 Ruby Crescents, and 4 Amethyst crescents he has earned this past year. To put those numbers in perspective, Monty's 12 Diamond Crescents this year would put him in 5th Place in the history of the DJB. His 36 Ruby Crescents from this year are enough to put him alone at the top of the DJB in our history. He did those things in a year.....against our other member's entire careers. He also did it while doing the 7 bullet points above.
   

It is not often that two Grand Master's write a promotion for a member in this club, but Montresor is no ordinary member. I am extremely happy that he has been here to support me and the DB and I look forward to his future increased role within the club. Congrats!

Grand Master Declan Roark, 2016-04-23 19:37:37 UTC

When I was confirmed as Justicar, I had an immediate vacancy in the position of Left Hand of Justice. The work to be done between the hands and me was immense. We had over ten trials and investigations to complete, a Covenant to re-write, judicial processes to redefine, and a Chamber of Justice to rebuild. I needed a solid team. I needed people that were reliable, took initiative, and stated their opinion without hesitation.

I didn't know Montressor at all when I hired him. I had heard good things of him from my friends, he had a great application, and he had the backing of the Grand Master. That was enough for me. And since his hiring, I have a hard time remembering hiring someone that was a better fit for what I needed (perhaps Sarin? Perhaps. ). (*Sarin note....you suck Jac)

Monty has taken his role in the CoJ to the next level on every account. Over the last year or so, he has been instrumental in the following:

1. Upholding the #1 goal of the CoJ to keep current on all case and investigation obligations. First as LHoJ and now as RHoJ, Monty has gone above and beyond to work the cases in a professional and tireless manner.

2. Working with me to establish judicial procedures, including rewriting from the ground up the trial process, including substantial information related to the role of the hands in that process.

3. Writing handbooks and guides to be used to make the CoJ a contiguous group through future staff, including a LHoJ handbook, Probation guide, and a in-process RHoJ handbook.

4. Advising me on numerous matters of great importance, and being a quick sounding board for me. Monty has offered great advice in all circumstances.

5. Handling with alacrity all of the issues with clones that plague the RHoJ position, and doing so with integrity and professionalism.

6. Assisting with the Covenant rewrite. Monty has helped with all of the stages of the rewrite and has contributed many useful ideas.

The CoJ can be slow at times, and at other times it can be overbearing. Monty handles it all without a complaint, and gets everything done that he says he will. He is excellent in all that he does.

Beyond the above, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Monty was not just a good worker, but he's a great person. We don't necessarily cover these qualities in promotion requirements, but they are qualities that should not be overlooked. Monty is a joy to work with. He is personable and easy to talk to. He keeps communication moving with his peers, and makes sure he is always being of use. Beyond being an excellent Hand, I am glad to call him a friend.

As a final note, I will state that I find it most impressive that the greatest achievements of Monty have not come from the traditional Clan advancements. This promotion is from him making himself indispensable to two of the highest positions in the DB. He didn't wait for this promotion to come to him through natural activity; he sought it out and pushed for it. In my 20 years here, I have rarely seen the type of initiative and drive as Monty's. He is one of a kind.

I am beyond pleased to see Monty elevated to Elder. He deserves it, and he deserves our thanks.

Jac Cotelin, 2016-04-23 18:27:39 UTC

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