The Independence Games (http://independencegames.stormraven.org/independencegames/IG08/) have begun! Participate, represent your Clan well, earn medals, and catch the eye of your leaders!

How do I participate?

First, read the rules: http://independencegames.stormraven.org/independencegames/IG08/rules.html

Then, check out the events: http://independencegames.stormraven.org/independencegames/IG08/events.html

Complete an event, and then click "Submit," fill out the form, and you have completed one event for the glory that is Clan Scholae Palatinae! Those of you who can beat me in participation will be my new friends!

Why do we have the Independence Games?

The Independence Games celebrate the "Exodus" (http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/wiki/index.php?title=Exodus), when our Dark Jedi Brotherhood split off from the Emperor's Hammer. In order to better understand WHY this happened, please read the "Petition for the Redress of Grievances" (http://grievance.darkjedibrotherhood.com/), the document that was sent to the leaders of the Emperor's Hammer.

How much time do I have?

According to Braecen: All events will be closed to submissions on May 14th, 2008 at 4 o'clock in the morning (EST). Don't procrastinate! We need all of your entries submitted as soon as possible!

"The Last Lecture"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo -- Randy Pausch, "Acheiving your childhood dreams"

I watched this after hearing about it from someone. It's an hour long, but it's worth a million buckaroos and cashews. You can simply listen to it while doing other things. Professor Pausch is very entertaining and inspirational, and I learned a great deal from this guy.

Watch it, understand it, preach it. I'm planning on buying his book, "The Last Lecture," soon.

Other introduction material...

If you didn't already know, I recently passed my 1.5 year benchmark. This means that I have been Quaestor of this magnificent House for more than one and a half years! It's a long time, and it's been a tough road, but it's been fun. As far as I know, I am now the longest-serving Quaestor, excluding those who count multiple tenures in the position.

Oh yea, this is my 35th report as Quaestor. This means that I am now tied with Sabe, who was Quaestor from November 2001 to August 2002, on writing the most reports in this position.

I present the Revvy Report.... one of the longest EVER... I think.

HOUSE NEWS:

1) Congrats to Kalak on another Seal of Loyalty and another merit medal, an Anteian Cross!

2) Congrats to Natth on earning another Grand Cross!

3) If you hadn't noticed, Aedile Exodius has returned from his LoA. Anga, Korroth, and Kalak have also come back from LoAs.

HOUSE DIRECTION:

== Organization ==

Have you ever wondered HOW some organizations are efficient, practical, and just so awesome? This is due to several reasons, the biggest one being "Organization." According to the great Wikipedia article on "Organization" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization), "An organization (or organisation) is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals, which controls its own performance, and which has a boundary separating it from its environment."

In order to better understand my intentions on writing about "organization," I will break this into three parts based on the previous statement.

=== Pursues Collective Goals ===

Before we can pursue goals, we have to understand what they are and how we are going to obtain them.

As a Clan, our goal is fairly simple: to become the First Clan of the Brotherhood. To earn this title, we must win a Great Jedi War. To win a Great Jedi War, we need to follow a simple principle: "The followers must be educated. The followers must be motivated. The leaders must be strategic." (Of course, this trio of statements can be applied to most other events, but I'll be concentrating on the "big" event.)

Education - Both the Clan and House Summits will be working their hardest before and during a Great Jedi War. We will be working to educate you on what a Great Jedi War is, why it is important, and why you must participate. We will be working to make sure that you know what each of the events are, and we will be working to make sure that you know what is going on. Great Jedi Wars can be chaotic, so everything that the leaders do must be streamlined, efficient, and beneficial to the followers.

Motivation - In addition to letting you know what everything is, we will be working to inspire you. We will be working to ensure that you all are motivated to participate. Even if you do not place in the top 3 of any event, it is imperative that you participate. It is most likely that many of us will be writing "inspirational speeches" in order to get your blood pumping and your mind saying, "I'ma do me some G-J-W events!"

Strategy - Along with you guys, the leaders will be working to make sure that we do not spread our "resources" too thin. We will have to maximize participation in every event, but we will also be placing special focus on events that earn us more points. The Great Jedi War is both a test of personal endurance and a test of which leaders can truly lead the way.

Sounds like a lot of work, huh?

Well, to put plainly, it is a lot of work. It will be tiring, and it WILL BE FUN. Great Jedi Wars are always AWESOME.

Despite the difficulties we should just follow what Rosie the Riveter said... "WE CAN DO IT!"

As a House, we have a slightly different goal: to maintain our dominant position at the top of the Clan. We have long been considered Clan Scholae Palatinae's "premier unit," and we will continue this tradition. Even though the other two Houses, Caliburnus and Dorimad Sol, have been strengthening and thriving, we have been as well, so why can't we stay at the top? I've grown quite fond of the mountain's summit.

How will we do it?

There are numerous ways in which we may achieve this goal. We will, of course, do all of them:

Leading from the front. Exodius and I attempt to show the other House leaders that we maintain a high standard of excellence. The leaders' behavior is reflected in the members, so it is necessary that we continue our pattern of discipline, awesomeness, and super awexomeness. In every Brotherhood-wide event, I expect us to be leading the other Houses in terms of participation and general pwnage. (After all, we are the big sister House.)

Win an intra-Clan House Feud. In the future, following the Independence Games, we will have another House Feud. Although the details on this Feud have not yet been fully expounded, the idea behind a House Feud is to determine the strongest of a Clan's Houses. It is only logical that we, the Clan's strongest House, will win this event.

Contribute the most to the Clan. Yes, I realize that this may seem to be a pretty ambiguous statement, but to those of us who have been here for a long time, it really isn't. When you watch from above, the ones who lead the pack are obvious. We will have our members leading Clan-wide projects and initiatives, and we will have our members leading in terms of activity and ingenuity.

=== Controls Its Own Performance ===

We must be in control. Others should not affect our performance. It is imperative that we grasp this idea. Along with the idea of disregarding intimidation attempts, the statement sends a positive vibe that tells us that we are great, and no one can stop that.

It is up to us, not others. We will be excellent no matter what anyone says or does.

Our standards have been set in stone, and it we will surpass them each time we go into battle. Exodius and I will be working to motivate you and inspire you to do your best for your sake, our family's sake, and our sake.

On a somewhat unrelated note, I'd like to talk about how we, as a group, view achievement. Think about this in terms of school: We are not the "over-achievers." This overused term carries a very negative connotation. We are not the people who fret over every blemish on a collage or model of a Uranium atom. We are, in fact, the "high-achievers." We put in a lot of effort, and we receive wonderful results, but we don't go so far that we become annoying.

=== Boundary Separating From Environment ===

I had difficulty understanding what Wikipedia meant by this. I wondered if it was an attempt to confuse me from some strange 12 year-old vandal. (Of course, I then remembered that Wikipedia was never wrong. In fact, Wikpedia morphs reality, not the other way around.)

Have you ever heard the saying, "Good fences make good neighbors"?

Our House's neighbors are our sister Houses, and our Clan's neighbors are the other Clans of the Brotherhood.

Our boundaries require respect from both sides. Our boundaries require cooperation and teamwork from both sides.

But there is a limit as to how much love should pass the fence. We should all remember that nobody likes people who just pass right through the fence to go eat some of our hamburgers. Respect entails the idea that we do not pass the fence without permission.

There are also boundaries inside of our House. These boundaries primarily maintain the division of authority and duties while ensuring order and the idea that no one can simply take everything. In a big house, everyone has their own room. Nobody wants people to just snoop around their room or smash a flag into the floor and claim it.

RECRUITMENT:

(From my "Recruitment = Yay!", April 4, email over the AcclivisDraco GoogleGroup.)

We are the smallest House right now. Even the recently opened House Dorimad Sol has larger numbers than us. I know that numbers are not a good way to measure quality, but I feel that it is imperative for us to expand. Here is a simple way to justify wanting more members:

More members = More participation = More points = More prizes = Maintaining our position at the top = YAY!!!

If you know a co-worker, friend, or family member that is interested in Star Wars and being active in the Dark Jedi Brotherhood... direct them to the join page! Do you have a blog? Post a link to the Dark Jedi Brotherhood! http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/join.asp

Remember, it is unacceptable to have more than one character in the Dark Jedi Brotherhood, so don't create another character and say that you are recruiting. With the Independence Games close to us, participation in that event will guarantee promotions at the lower Journeyman ranks.

Do I get shiny stuff if I recruit people?

YES! If your new recruit earns the rank of Acolyte (the 3rd rank), YOU will receive a SCROLL OF INDOCTRINATION! Scrolls of Indoctrination are necessary medals if you wish to advance on the Clan Powers hierarchy.

Recruit more people!

HOUSE PROJECTS:

If you want to help out with any of these projects, feel free to shoot me an email! But remember, these projects require a lot of ingenuity and writing skill.

Post your ideas on the thread in the House forum, http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3614, or send an email my way. I'll consider all your suggestions and respond to you ASAP.

• Antenora: In-Depth

• Fictional Backdrop

• HAD Review

• Order of the Dragon Development

• House Descriptions Development

• Ludus and Servus

• #acclivisdraco Classes

REPORT TRIVIA:

http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/competitiondetails.asp?ID=3316

Remember to send all answers to me ONLY!

FUTURE PROJECTS:

None in the queue.

ROSTER:

129 Dark Jedi Master Natth a'Niel Palpatine

1540 Dark Side Adept Vail Aquillarum Unteminar

3153 Pontifex Cuchulain Darkblade Palpatine

236 Epis Adam Anderson

3155 Epis Timbal

3491 Epis RevengeX Palpatine

1845 Prelate Exodius

4438 Priest Uzbad Zol Tamalar

8013 Priest Kara Incendia Zor-El

3821 Dark Jedi Knight Anga Salinas

4082 Dark Jedi Knight Makurth "Zak" Mandalore

6041 Dark Jedi Knight Laurus

7610 Dark Jedi Knight Gavan Sykes

8307 Dark Jedi Knight Kalak Ragnose

8967 Dark Jedi Knight Yeldarb Vohokou

9059 Jedi Hunter Tra'an Reith

8408 Guardian Sauni Demai

8488 Guardian Korroth Karn

8700 Protector Aro-wan

9047 Protector Toivious

9911 Protector Lailoken

9738 Acolyte Maethorir

9761 Acolyte Koryn Thraagus

9886 Acolyte Balthezar

9888 Acolyte Syroch

9999 Apprentice dark lightsaber

Our House stands at 26 members.

LINKS TO REMEMBER:

Dark Jedi Brotherhood - http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/

Shadow Academy - http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/shadowacademy/sa/

Antei Combat Center - http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/acc/

Codex of the Dark Brotherhood - http://www.codex.darkjedibrotherhood.com/

Dark Side Compendium - http://www.dsc.darkjedibrotherhood.com/

Dark Brotherhood Forum - http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/forum/

Dark Brotherhood Wiki - http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/wiki/

Clan Scholae Palatinae - http://www.scholaepalatinae.darkjedibrotherhood.com/

House Acclivis Draco - http://www.acclivisdraco.darkjedibrotherhood.com/

House Caliburnus - http://www.housecaliburnus.org/

Clan Scholae Palatinae Master-Student Program - http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/wiki/index.php?title=Clan_Scholae_Palatinae_Master_Student_Program

POINTS OF CONTACT:

Quaestor: RevengeX Palpatine

Aedile: Exodius

Consul: Phoenix Olkyssagh d'Tana Palpatine

Proconsul: Lucien Kaeth

CONCLUSION:

• Congrats to Natth on his Grand Cross! Well done, and I look forward to seeing the results of your work! :)

• Welcome back, Laurus!

• Congrats to Lailoken on his promotion to Protector!

• Please welcome dark lightsaber from the Shadow Academy!

Have a great week, everyone!

-RevengeX

--

KE RevengeX Palpatine (Krath)/QUA-EP-Wiki-M:SCL/Acclivis Draco of Scholae Palatinae [ACC: JUD]

SB / GC-PoDP / SC-SoH / AC-ToSL / DC-GP / GN-BL / SN / BN-BL / Cr-1D-3R-13A-21S-23E-10T-10Q / PoB-AuL / CF-SpF / DSS-AgL / SI-BL / SoF-AuL / SoL-TC / LS-EL / S:-4Al-9C-17D-6Do-6Dk-17P

{SA: MVN - DML - DMP - SVT}