Turel joined this club just over ten years ago. He quickly worked his way to the top of Clan Odan Urr, presiding over something of a golden age for the clan and laying groundwork for his successors to build upon. I certainly knew who he was at the time, but I didn't have much interaction with him until Jac selected us both to serve as his Hands in the CoJ--me as RHoJ, Turel as LHoJ. We served a full year together in those roles, fully resolving three cases and advising on several other matters that never resulted in charges.

In that role, I learned how seriously he takes the rights of his fellow members and how much he cares about ensuring that everyone is treated fairly. I assume most people think those things are important, but very few are willing to dedicate their time and energy to them over so many years, and to do it so well--he has made some incredibly persuasive arguments on behalf of charged members, and even if they were ultimately convicted and punished, his advocacy certainly made us all think twice very carefully about it.

As Fist, he's had some tough acts to follow. Valhavoc and Drac (first, second, and third terms) cast long shadows, but Turel hasn't been intimated or hesitated to make major changes that he believed were necessary. It's a tough job, perhaps the toughest regular DC role in terms of feedback, but Turel has proven himself to be more than a match for it. If anyone has earned EL2, it's you. Congrats.

Lord Dacien Victae, 2024-06-06 21:12:06 UTC

Turel is a big part of why I'm here today. He was one of my initial summit members and mentored me through the first several years of my career. If I know anything about award sweeps and the medal and promotion processes, it's because Turel trained me. My philosophy and approach to unit leadership are, I think, pretty obviously informed by the example he set as my PCON and CON.

But beyond that, Turel is in a very literal sense the reason why I'm HM right now. Going into 2022, I was overwhelmingly frustrated with DB politics for reasons that aren't worth going into here. Turel got a front row seat to a lot of my venting about it. But this was around the time when he took on the Fist job.

Now, if there's anybody who can claim disillusionment with club politics, Turel might be it. His early career was derailed by a CoJ conviction in a case which, frankly, would not have been prosecuted today. His Consul term, otherwise an unblemished success, was mired by an unending whirl of inter-clan and club-level drama that had little, if anything, to do with him. In the following years he developed a reputation as, to use the then-GM's word, a "malcontent." This reputation not only interfered with his career, it briefly got to the point where valid arguments were discredited just by association with Turel. And his term as Combat Master did not go as he would have liked.

Our community, at its worst, features grandstanding, temper tantrums, grievance collection, and pettiness that would put HOAs and academics to shame. Other members, faced with some of the challenges I've just listed, have stormed off in a huff, or turned to harassment, or desperately scrambled to avoid any accountability by attacking somebody else. While sometimes those members burn their last bridges, that behavior hasn't always disqualified people from promotions to our highest ranks and positions. So the temptation to wallow in salt and contribute to that worse nature is always there.

But that's our worst: at our best, this community changes lives for the better. Across the nine years that I've known Turel, through his highs and lows, has always valued that and pushed himself to build up that community, to challenge both himself and those around him to embrace our better natures instead of taking the easy way out. He could have taken the easy way out after his conviction. He didn't. He owned his mistake and made himself a positive example. He earned mutual respect from multiple Justicars and served multiple terms as LHoJ to ensure that every member brought before the Chamber receives due process and compassion without sacrificing accountability. When his efforts to serve as a self-appointed champion of the members turned unhelpful, Turel did the soul searching required to come to terms with that. He took on the even more difficult task of repairing the relationships he'd damaged, a process that took years, patience, and no small amount of humility.

Over and over and over again, I've watched Turel dust himself off and get back to work, turn the other cheek to work with people who've been shitty and unfair to him, or just get over himself and get back to work. I've watched him challenge others to do the same, to "not be that guy" but instead to refocus on what benefits the community around them.

So, to get back to my initial point, it's not surprising that when I was ready to walk away, it was Turel who convinced me not to. He understood my frustrations in a visceral way, but he didn't let me off the hook. He made it clear that if I'd get over myself and go for a Council position, I could do a lot of good for the community. And for the past year and a half, as I have so often over my club career, I have tried to live up to his expectation of me.

That's real leadership: the ability to inspire others to be better than they could get away with. It's precious and all too rare. That's Turel.

Alethia Archenksova
Headmistress

Headmistress Alethia Archenksova, 2024-06-06 15:54:14 UTC

Rajhin/Turel excels in being a leader in his role as FIST and within the community as he has always elevated other members to be better versions of themselves. Whether taking on a member as part of his staff to guide them to be more active and engaged, offering advice to individual members on improving their proposals, and advocating for members to ensure their voices are heard in the gaming community. He will drop whatever he is doing to help a member on even the most minimal of issues. Turel is an underappreciated influence on the Brotherhood and his efforts have stimulated the regrowth of the gaming community. His efforts are not short of adding new PC or console games that are not just within one genre, but working with members to get Pazaak, Star Wars CCG, and CAH supported. He has considered the members who would otherwise be hidden in support needs such as getting the Scripty bot added for Hard of Hearing or Deaf members. He has not been afraid of seeking new ideas that were not thought about before or were not adopted due to different times. Turel has been one of the most flexible FISTs to be considerate of members and I am proud of all his accomplishments. He has more than deserved this.

Vorran Shadowfeather, 2024-05-31 04:30:15 UTC