Greetings,

While it's almost over, I would just like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season in however you celebrate it. As with everywhere else, the MAA office is taking a bit more "time off" but things will continue to be processed in a timely manner and my e-mail is checked frequently throughout the day. Things have not ground to a halt, so there are a couple announcements to make. This will also be a good indicator of just who does read these reports, as I would hope the Consuls at the very least do...there is information pretaining to them and everyone else below

Journeyman Promotions:

It has been quite awhile since I received any feedback or comments from the Consuls on this. As such, this "new" system is now completely in effect. What does this mean to the average member as well as those who request such promotions? Not too much, but there are a few things we are looking out for. As always, be specific. If we don't know what a person did, we can then not evaluate whether a promotion is acceptable or not. After Acolyte there are no more SA-only promotions. We did continue to allow it for some time after, but that is no longer acceptable. After ACO, we do expect members to begin competing in the various competitions around the DB, their Clan, their House and their Battleteam. We are looking to see that members are active and "doing things". Also, there were certain small milestones we hoped for members to achieve such as getting on IRC and communication with their Clans (Communication is a vital part of the Brotherhood and is key to growth in this club), getting involved in a Battleteam and learning about the various aspects of the DB through current means, with or without an actual "Master"

All of the Consuls had received this information shortly after I had become MAA, so this isn't new to them. Some Clans have already talked to me about it and run with it, others haven't. However, I have asked for comments and suggestions so no one should be caught unawares.

Merit Medals:

The Codex has been updated with the latest medal descriptions, but work does continue with this. The poll has shown me that the majority of members in the DB prefer to use the medal upgrades in their ID-line, so that is what we shall continue to do. However, plans were already in the works to update the upgrade names as well, hence the poll in the first place (whether to continue with the work or not, essentially). However, we are having trouble coming up with good upgrade-names for the Grand Cross and Dark Cross. Below are the new upgrades for the Steel Cross and Anteian Cross:

Steel Cross (SC-SoF-SoA-SoH-SoR-CoP-CoI-CoT)

SCx2: Star of Fear

SCx3: Star of Anger

SCx4: Star of Hate

SCx5: Star of Rage

SCx7: Cluster of Power

SCx10: Cluster of Immortality

SCx15: Cluster of Transcendence

Anteian Cross (AC-ToSR-ToDS-ToSW-ToSC-RoF-RoT-RoO)

ACx2: Token of the Shroud

ACx3: Token of the Dark Star

ACx4: Token of the Shadowlands

ACx5: Token of the Star Chamber

ACx7: Ring of Ferran

ACx10: Ring of Taimat

ACx15: Ring of Okemi

I have put up a new competition to help choose the new upgrade names. 5th Level Crescents will be given for both the Grand Cross of the Dark Side upgrades as well as the Dark Cross Upgrades. We need 3 upgrades for the GC and 7 for the DC. They should have a "theme" of some sort so that a progression can be seen. You can find the details here. Once all of the names have been chosen, the ID-lines will be updated to reflect the changes

DB Wiki

Thanks to Kaine and his staff, a couple of MAA-related documents have been set up on the DB Wiki. As it is a good centralized location, any other MAA documents will be placed there as well. Currently we have the Official Family Name List, Clan Name List and MAA Policies. The information contained on these pages are to be updated only by the MAA. As such, should there be a question or you think something is missing or needs changing, contact me directly. Please do touch it yourself.

There are a few small things we are continuing to work on, mainly focusing on the medals themselves. These include:

• Re-writing the fictional aspects of each medal so that they aren't as bland (going to contact someone who has better writing skills than me :P)

• Putting together a few good recommendations for each medal with reasons why they are good (Need to comment on them, but examples have been chosen

• Working on ideas for new medals and discuss whether they would be needed or not. This has already begun, with a more finalized list to be sent to the rest of the Dark Council in the comming week or so

It isn't a very big list as these are the more immediate concerns. There are some long-range ideas and plans, but they would involve parties outside of the MAA office, meaning a lot more planning and discussion is needed. However, if there are things in the MAA office that you think should be added or changed, let us know.

I would like to congratulate both Troutrooper and Dalthid on their recent awards. TT was given a Ruby Scepter for all of his hard work on the Alacrity documents and Praetor duties while Dalthid was elevated for his fantastic work with the ACC. They are both well deserved awards, but also look out for any more awards during the holidays

As always, the best place to get in contact with me is through e-mail. If you have a question or comment, please shoot me a mail. I would also like to point out that if a promotion or medal is denied for whatever reason, please read the comments. Reasons are specified for every denial. If you still have any questions, don't hesitate to e-mail me. Denials are not "personal", so don't take them as such. In most cases it is because the recc itself is lacking in any actual detail, meaning we don't know what someone did to deserve the award. So before you decide to go on IRC and spouting hate, take a second, read the comments and talk to me.

I look forward to seeing those upgrade names, and when they are decided upon I shall announce the changes to the ID-lines. Until then.

In Darkness,

Dark Jedi Master Halcyon Rokir

Master at Arms

Deputy Combat Master