- Event ID
- 149044
- Award
- Sapphire Blade
- Quantity
- 1
- Requested by
- Master Ruka Tenbriss Ya-ir
- Primary reason
-
I am both honored and humbled to bring Zakath Agrona before the Master-At-Arms today for his first sacrificial weapon: The Sapphire Blade. It is an award that speaks to a member’s consistent and long-term activity for the betterment of their Clan; often unseen as individual pieces, but together as parts of a collective whole - holistically. Today - here and now - I vouch that Zakath has carried Arcona for the better part of six months with his individual effort and leadership.
Since his last recognition, Dan has participated in 98 competitions and (co)Organized 23 competitions; submitting 5 PvP Matches, logging 16 PvE Activities, completing 2 ACC Matches, written 14 Fiction Activities (18,138 words!), posted 5 times to run-ons (2798 words!), and completed 6 Shadow Academy courses. He has accrued a myriad of awards in that time, as well: 26 Crescents (3 Cr-R, 6 Cr-A, 4 Cr-S, 9 Cr-E, 4 Cr-T), 86 Clusters of Fire, 49 Clusters of Ice, and 92 Clusters of Earth. During this time, he has been instrumental as a leader of several sub-units - Battle Team Styx (3 months) and Battle Team Tal’mahe’Ra (4 months) - in addition to House Galeres and Clan Arcona. I will detail his work in each of those positions to the best of my ability to explain his impact on each role and its effect on the Clan at large.
Shortly after his elevation, Dan moved to House Qel-Droma and joined the effort in Tyrant’s Blade that transitioned to Styx. An experienced leader, a former Quaestor when I was an Arcona Proconsul, he worked diligently as a mediator between the House Leaders and his own Battle Team Leader; helping shape conversations and direction that would become Styx. While the project was solely Myrji’s idea, Dan put in a lot of hours with the team to help solidify its identity and direction. So, when it was decided to start a new Battle Team in House Galeres, I appointed Dan to lead the project. He spent the better part of a month creating dialogue with the members of the House, creating two separate surveys, and drilling through roadblocks and concerns to create the proposal for Tal’mahe’Ra (5 pages). He then enlisted Tamashi (Mord) to assist him in working through finer details and creating the Tal’mahe’Ra Wiki Page (5 pages), and also helped draft several short fictions for the team before writing their first fictional update (nearly 5 pages) and a most recent combined Nighthawk-Galeres-Tal’mahe’Ra update (9 pages). I also want to commend Ninj’s efforts in creating an inclusive environment for his team… he has ran several competitions (Battle Team Name, Motto, Banner, Base, NPC’s, etc) that draw his team into discussion; it has had MASSIVE results in his ‘Town Hall’ format and created a sense - throughout his team - that their contributions are heard and matter. His tireless work ethic has solidified Galeres by providing a true counterpart to Nighthawk whom has always ruled within Galeres as the pre-eminent team.
In addition to writing the fiction updates for his Battle Team and House, Dan also is assigned a larger project: he runs Fiction in Clan Arcona. What?, you say. Way back at the turn of the year, I decided that we needed someone to grab the proverbial bull by the horns regarding Fiction competitions in Clan Arcona. We had lots of cooks in the kitchen, saw declining numbers in entries (due to saturation), and had a lot of repetitive ideas and misdirection. We installed Dan to combat these problems through several steps. 1) If you are a Fiction competition idea, you are directed to Dan first. He works with all members of Arcona to ensure the details and prompt are correctly provided before they arrive at the MAA’s office. 2) Dan runs the calendar for events/major events in the Clan as the Fiction Captain. He keeps track of all running events (Battle Team to Brotherhood-wide) to prevent unnecessary overlap or saturation. It also helps the Clan Summit plan accordingly for major events like ‘Sins of the Past’ and ‘Arcona Gaming Dominance’. 3) Dan sends out bi-weekly communication to the Clan. It lists every Fiction event, provides links and timelines. This tool stimulates our membership to activity and keeps people discussing what is going on and what looks interesting for participation. On top of this, he just ran his second major Clan-wide competition: Summer Sun Selen-bration. He worked alongside Riverche to create 8 unique competitions. In total, he drew out 26 unique participants over a two week period and collected 157 unique submissions (19.625 submissions per event). In addition, he provided regular updates through the Clan Mailer and wrote both the opening & closing fiction to commemorate the event.
Dan, thank you. I know you work tirelessly for me. I push and push and push until there seemingly is nothing left. Yet we reach deep down and pull the rabbit out of the hat each time. You’ve grown so much since you joined me on this journey. Thank you for your faith. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for making Tal’mahe’Ra, Galeres, and Arcona a better place.
Braecen Kaeth
Quaestor of Galeres
Master Ruka Tenbriss Ya-ir, 2016-07-18 15:33:28 UTC
- Additional reasons
-
“Consistency is far better than rare moments of greatness.” Zakath is one member in Arcona who is consistently exceeding expectations. Ninj provides consistent greatness to the entire clan.
He’s simply one of the most caring people I know and is always willing to help everyone in any way he possibly can. Dan is always on Telegram contributing to conversations, answering questions, and providing feedback. This isn’t just with members of the summit, but each and every member in our clan. His unwavering commitment to daily tasks astounds me. Not only does he send regular communication to the members of his Battle Team and House Summit, but he asks questions about other’s roles to have a better grasp on the Brotherhood. One such example, I recently worked as a Guest Speaker for the Post-DJK Mentorship Program in Arcona, where I gave a detailed look into the Office of the FIST. Ninj not only provided excellent questions, but helped me come up with the idea of creating a ten minute instructional video to better explain what we do. When he isn’t doing something like that, he’s proofing fiction for members, getting commissions for multiple characters (that are not him) and has bought games for people just so they can earn clusters and have fun. It’s not the money that stands out. It’s his character and willingness to help.
Zakath has been a great friend to me and become one of the members I trust most. I’m pleased to see you progress. Congratulations!
Ernordeth Puer-Irae
Praetor to the Fist
Ernordeth Puer-Irae, 2016-07-18 15:30:41 UTC
A classic Sapphire Blade recommendation will tell you that a member has shown great, consistent effort for their clan or position over time. Ninj - or Larrik, Zakath, Dan, whatever you may call the man aside from "friend" - is an extraordinary example of that statement. His outlined personal activity in the space of half a year is already commendable, but it's a drop in the bucket of all that he does. Many of my fellow summiteers have talked about how at its core, this club is its people; that if nothing else here interests you, the people will. They will engage you and befriend you. And that, I say today, is Ninj's greatest quality.
Ninj is one of those members that sincerely gives everything - and then some - back. He incorporates countless ideas into competitions, not only his own, but those of the teammates he speaks with, both in soliciting feedback and just from casual discussion; if someone mentions they wished they had some prompt to work with, Ninj is the first to write it down and sprint to the MAA office. He's equally attentive in other affairs, always talking with his clanmates and brethren from around the db, trading a constant stream of friendly chatter and encouragement in turns with reminders about competitions or driving fictional and character development discussions. He's a big supporter in the DB Art Community and now vocal in the DB Fiction chat as well, offering what advice and cheer he can and contributing practice drawings and fictional queries. Besides this, Ninj is also an active and aspiring leader, previously a Battleteam Sergeant and now Leader, working tirelessly on member engagement, identity development, fiction updates, and reports. And yet, little does all mentioned here seem to really encompass the spirit of Ninj's generosity and caring, how much he really tries to give to everyone around him.
We can only hope, in the end, that these accolades in some way show it, and our appreciation for him. Thank you, Dan, for all you strive to do better and better each day. Know we're proud.
Atyiru Caesura Entar
Consul of Clan Arcona
Master Ruka Tenbriss Ya-ir, 2016-07-18 15:31:41 UTC
Dan is an individual to aspire to, his record with regards to activity I think others have covered quite extensively already. I'd like to use this opportunity to speak of him as a leader and a close friend.
Most do not know of his personal struggles and I think that speaks for itself, Dan is never one to burden others but seems to have an affinity of knowing when his members are struggling. It's like a knack or an instinct he has, he just knows and has an amazing way of being able to get in touch and supporting you when you least expect to see anyone. I have never gone a week without him and that has been a part of my life since I've been a part of the DB.
He's always there, always keeps in touch and aware of how his members are keeping. He's never forceful with activity and yet has a way to make you want to do more and works with his team to support whatever projects they are hoping to get off the ground.
Not only the above, he has essentially created a Battleteam from scratch, I don't think many within our community can boast of such an achievement in the first place. Yet he has managed to create something unique and exciting.
The Tal'mahe'Ra has many sources of inspiration but is also a great testament to his ability to work with others. Compromise is a skill that few ever learn but also knowing when to stand one’s ground for the things that are important is equally valuable, Dan is and has always known when to balance the two.
Dan also values the fact that his members have different skills and tastes when it comes to their hobby. It's a tricky thing to balance and yet he seems to be able to do it without finding it difficult. Again it is something the whole team is grateful for. Be it character development to gaming no one is left wanting for something.
As someone I consider a close friend I'm so proud to see Dan's hard work be recognised by writing this. To me he is family both within and outside the Brotherhood, and it is my hope that I will be able to write many more recommendations such as this one in the future.
Nath Agrona
Archpriestess Aay'han Agrona Beviin, 2016-07-18 15:32:58 UTC
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