There are some members of the Brotherhood whose reputations arrive long before you ever formally meet them. For me, that person was Slags.
Long before I joined the club, I knew the name through my partner, Alaris. Late nights were often filled with the sounds of voice chats echoing from the other room in my house. Laughter, debates that grew louder than intended, moments of frustration followed immediately by shared jokes. Slags was almost always part of those conversations. Even as someone completely outside the Brotherhood at the time, it was obvious that this was someone deeply embedded in the community.
It was also obvious that he was not universally easy to deal with.
Slags built a reputation over decades as someone fiercely opinionated, confident to the point of stubbornness, and at times capable of coming across as indifferent, overly blunt, or as some would say, an asshole. In his career, that intensity could create friction. He was never interested in soft leadership or empty diplomacy and there were moments where ego spoke louder than patience.
But what defines Slags legacy is not who he was at his most difficult... it is the growth that followed.
Over time and with the grounding influence of people like Alaris who were never afraid to challenge him, Slags evolved. The sharp edges did not disappear, rather, they refined into something far more effective. Confidence became experience. Blunt honesty became constructive mentorship. Strong opinions became informed leadership shaped by decades of institutional knowledge.
By the time I joined the Brotherhood, I encountered a leader who had learned not only how to lead others, but how to grow himself.
From day one, he made space for new members in a way that felt genuine. There was no pretense, no forced friendliness, simply an expectation that if you were here, you belonged and had something to contribute. That attitude set the tone for my early experience and ultimately shaped my entire career within the club.
Only a few months after joining, I stepped into my first leadership role as Aedile. Like many new leaders, I entered that position excited but uncertain, trying to understand how to balance responsibility with community building. Nearly every leadership skill I possess today can be traced back to lessons learned from Slags during that time.
He did not mentor through lectures. He mentored through engagement.
He answered questions at all hours, challenged my assumptions, offered feedback that was honest rather than comfortable, and consistently encouraged me to grow beyond what I thought I was capable of. I learned how to manage people, how to foster activity, how to prioritize member experience, and how to navigate the complicated reality of leading a volunteer organization, all under his guidance.
My entire DJB career has unfolded alongside his mentorship. From Aedile, to Quaestor twice, and now to Proconsul, I have spent nearly my entire time on a summit team. I can say without hesitation that I would not be in the position I am today without Slags influence. He was my sounding board, my critic when I needed grounding, and my loudest supporter when confidence faltered.
He was quite simply my leadership foundation.
To understand the scale of Slags impact however, one must look beyond individual mentorship and consider the span of his service.
Since joining the Brotherhood on January 14 1999, Slags has devoted over two decades to shaping nearly every aspect of the organization. Few members can claim such sustained dedication across eras of change, and fewer still remain relevant leaders across multiple generations of membership.
Throughout his career he has served in an extraordinary range of roles: Aedile, Battle Team Leader, Quaestor, Proconsul, Consul, Praetor, Magistrate, Herald, Wiki Staff member, and even as a Hand of Justice. Each position reflects not merely participation but trust, repeated demonstrations that when the Brotherhood needed leadership Slags stepped forward.
Longevity alone does not define greatness. Impact does.
His accomplishments speak to both competitive excellence and sustained leadership success. Among his many honors, Slags holds the titles of di Plagia, Second Hero of the Dark Crusade, First Hero of Horizons, Avatar of Strife, Third Hero of the Fifteenth Great Jedi War: Ascension, and Third Hero of the Sixteenth Great Jedi War: Transcendence. These titles represent not momentary achievement but continued excellence across multiple defining events in Brotherhood history.
His competitive legacy is equally remarkable. As Combat Center Champion [Singularity] and bearer of the title The Mindwalker, Slags demonstrated mastery not only of leadership but of personal participation and skill. His standing within the clubs competitive sphere is further reinforced by holding the highest number of Gold Novae in the Brotherhood and the second highest total of Silver Novae, a testament to years of consistent engagement and performance.
Reaching the rank of Elder 3, the second highest attainable rank within the Brotherhood, reflects something even more significant than awards or statistics: sustained trust earned over decades.
Yet statistics alone cannot capture what Slags truly contributed.
The most meaningful measure of his legacy is the leaders he helped create.
Over the years, Slags shifted from being a leader defined primarily by personal presence to one defined by mentorship. He learned to empower others, to step back when needed and to allow new voices to shape the future of the club. That evolution is visible in countless members who have rose through the ranks under his guidance, myself included.
He believed in people before they believed in themselves. He challenged leaders to improve rather than settle. He reminded us that while we dedicate countless hours to organization, planning, and competition, we remain volunteers brought together by shared passion, creativity, and friendship.
What began for me as overheard conversations years ago became one of the most influential relationships of my time in the Brotherhood. Mentorship became collaboration. Collaboration became friendship.
And through it all Slags remained a constant. Sometimes challenging, sometimes frustrating, always honest, and ultimately deeply invested in the success of both individuals and the club as a whole.
Growth defines a leader’s true legacy. Slags journey from strong willed veteran to seasoned mentor reflects not only personal development but a commitment to becoming better for the community he cared about. That willingness to evolve is, in my opinion, one of his greatest accomplishments.
Thank you, Slags, for the lessons, the guidance, the encouragement, and even the difficult conversations that shaped me into the leader I am today. Thank you for investing time and belief into others. Thank you for helping build leaders who will continue carrying forward the principles you worked so hard to refine.
You leave behind more than titles, awards, or positions. You leave behind people, leaders strengthened by your mentorship, friendships forged through shared experience, and a Brotherhood undeniably shaped by your presence.
I am incredibly grateful to have learned from you, honored to have served alongside you, and proud to call you a friend.
Your legacy is not simply what you achieved.
It is who you helped others become.
Nora Olen, 2026-04-19 02:53:55 UTC
Oh Slags, how the tables have turned. I never realized how bittersweet the day would be when I would finally get the chance to pay you back for all of the kind words that you have written about me in award and promo recs because it would mean that a constant for nearly 9 years was no more. It would mean that Slags was no longer in leadership.
In the past 11 years there has been a grand total of 34 days where Slags wasn’t in a leadership position. When I first joined, Slags was already leading Plagueis as Consul. I was intimidated at first as a new join by this member so far up the ranks of the club, but Slags very quickly saw something in me and offered me my first taste of leadership, and I haven’t looked back since. That’s the thing about Slags, he’s always had a knack for seeing the leadership potential in members whether they see it in themselves or not, and helping them to grow and foster their skills within those positions. I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be in the position I am today nor held the positions that I have, if it weren’t for Slag’s encouragement and mentorship. Working with Slags has shown me the importance of putting the member experience first and foremost, the value of trying new things in order to see what drives engagement and activity, and that at the end of the day we are all volunteers in a club dedicated to space wizards and ships that go “pew, pew, pew”, so we need try to have a bit of fun!
I mentioned 11 years (with an EXTREMELY BRIEF hiatus) in leadership, but what I didn’t mention was that 5 years of that was just his current stretch as consul of Clan Plagueis. An incredibly impressive tenure that shows dedication and commitment to the clan. Under his guidance we saw membership participation increase, more competition organizers within the clan and of course, we saw Clan Plagueis bring home second place in the Sixteenth Great Jedi War. All incredible work that Slag’s would have you attribute to others, but while accurate, it’s not the whole story. Without his guidance, without his pushing and without him putting the right team together, none of that would have been possible. But it’s not just this clan that Slag’s was passionate about, but the club as a whole. Over the years, Slags has taken a small, silly new idea for a new clan event, the Pro Bowl, and worked tirelessly to expand and refine it to become a highly anticipated annual event. Starting as a way to break down the barriers between the houses of Clan Plagueis by dividing the members into two new teams turned into an event that would break down the walls between all of the clans of the Brotherhood and even bring in the DC to participate. This was a passion project for Slags that wasn’t about the glory of any one clan or individual, but about the value of teamwork and the importance of just trying things. It was about meeting new people from outside your regular contacts, creating unlikely alliances and sometimes even unexpected friendships. But in the end, above all it was about making a positive experience for members, something that Slags has preached to me over and over again over the years. These are lessons that Slags has worked tirelessly to instill in the leaders around him and are lessons I plan on carrying forward in my leadership career.
Thank you, Slags, for everything you’ve done for the Club, the Clan and me over the years. Your presence will be sorely missed and felt throughout the entire club. You leave some absolutely massive shoes to be filled, and unfortunately, I only have a massive hat. But, I will do my best to live up to the legacy you are leaving behind.
Adapt. Ascend. Avail.
- TuQ
TuQ’uan Varick di Plagia, 2026-04-18 13:10:32 UTC