Consul Report; posted 10/7/2008 via Clan Mailer

::bow::

Members of the Ascendant Clan,

Last week saw the departure of Master Nurok and Master d'Tana from the ranks of our leadership into the pool of our superbly, wonderful membership. Their presences will be sorely missed as each provided invaluable stability to a Clan in desperate need of different styles of leadership in a tumultuous time. Be it Mr. d'Tana's incalculable benefits from his perspective and work done in the shadows and providing feedback or Mr. Nurok's feigned, lugubrious nature at the notion of performing work or the countless hours he spent knowing his charges as more than a name on a dossier, but as actual people.

Truth be told, I learned a great deal from both of them; allowing their individual natures and actions to calibrate my own compass. And for that, I continually thank them...

Clan News

A lot of announcements concerning clan business. With all of the departures, we have some people to bring into the critical role of clan leadership. First, let me stress the importance of clan leaders and the significance they have. They are, first and foremost, excellent members whom are self-motivated to succeed and see others succeed within our club. Secondly, they are capable of managing their time and structuring tasks in an order of importance for the impact each part will have. Thirdly, they are the supreme role models we should look up to and find a spark of direction from; regular members should always take their cues from the individuals leading the way. So it is with great pride that I get to announce some new leaders in our clan!

House Exar Kun lost a formidable leader in Sith Battlemaster Godo Nurok; however, they have replaced him with a legend unto the legacy of Exar Kun... Dark Side Adept Jonaleth Isradia has agreed to return to active service. Jonaleth was an original participant in the creation and success that was Clan Exar Kun and has served Clan Plagueis with such devotion and loyalty that he has been awarded the Clan Honorific of di Plagia, as well. Welcome back, Jonaleth.

House Satal Keto has seen some changes as of recent with the flip-flop of the Quaestor and Aedile. And then with the departure of former Quaestor, Alex d'Tana. In his place, Alaris Jinn has stepped forward and flourished both at a House and Clan level. To assist him in his tasks, we have brought in a man with a devout understanding, and great personal experience, of Satal Keto's history... Obelisk Templar Raiju. His level of knowledge on Clan (and then House) Satal Keto is unparalleled by any in active service to the Brotherhood. Welcome home, Raiju.

During the House Satal Keto Aedile application process, I spied an applicant with the necessary experience and ambition to help our clan (and me) succeed. In the past, I had tried to use the position of Clan Roll Master with varying levels of success... though, I believe a permanent solution has presented itself in the form of Obelisk Primarch Quejo, formerly of Clan Arcona, for these duties. Quejo is a very, very experienced member of the Brotherhood whom has served in countless areas of expertise and will deliver an injection of perspective and initiative to the retention and training of our new members.

What is going on in the Clan? Honestly, it is a madhouse! Since my report last week, I have seen an untold amount of e-mails where members want to get active, get into leadership, work on projects and drive our clan forward. Great - stay with it, folks! Just because I do not have something at this immediate moment does not mean something tailored to your skills will not fall into my lap. I have several Battle Team Leader positions that will need to be filled, several projects in the pipeline and a clan desperately in need of day-to-day activity and role models.

As for activity, we have the "War of Ascension" ongoing with a nice House vs. House Feud coming in a month, as well as all of the Gaming Nights, Inter-Club Training Events, Antei Combat Center matches, Tribune:Fiction competitions, and silly clan competitions you can handle! Get active, get medals, get promotions... its that simple... you do stuff, I award you!

Brotherhood News

The Dark Brotherhood, as of the time I am writing this, is currently down. The SQL Injectors have struck again... dun dun DUN! The Seneschal, Grand Master Cotelin, is currently adding some code meant to scrub the data for such occurrences.

In other news - that I can pick from the top of my head - the new Consuls of Taldryan, Arcona and Naga Sadow have been chosen (in case you missed that tidbit). They are Chaos, Sashar and Robert Sadow, respectively. The importance of a Consul is thus: to represent the membership of the clans on the Dark Council. Remember, I serve as Consul for your benefit... surely not mine (or my sanity's!) :-p

The Tribune:Fiction has posted new competitions. I want you all to do these competitions. We have only had one regular participant in the past three months... and big congratulations go out to Kara Rohana for her continued participation and activity. She is a beast, she does every competition she can get her hands on... I hope that more of our members take a page from her book on this.

The Message

There are some moments in your life that define you. Not your ideas, your goals, your dreams... but you. Such a profound sense of certainty, understanding and serenity settle not only in your mind, but as if throughout your entire body; divulging a new truth in your life. It is as if this one phrase, song, message... this anything... strikes you with the haste of a lightning bolt and the force of a thousand tons.

I once experience such a moment while in attendance of a speech made by my Uncle. He was a brilliant man and anything he said, I oft took note, because there was bound to be some nugget of wisdom wrapped within. But I recall this day, this event, with great clarity, because it would later define my college education in philosophy. It was a quote from Goethe...

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."

It was profound for me due to the fact that I was merely thirteen years old and already had begun questioning what my purpose, or greater part, in life was to be. Reflectively, I still do not know what that purpose is to be; however, this quote reminds me of something very important. It was these words that made me, at such a young age, realize that everyone would like to have direction in life; a blueprint of how things should go and where we will succeed. But that, alas, is not written in any book, divined by any fortuneteller or found without the task of trying first.

The simple fact is that we must first... begin. Whatever you can do... begin it. Whatever you dream to do... begin it. For we cannot make massive strides in our lives without the initial steps. And it is through this boldness - this determination - that we will succeed; and it is our success that shows our genius, power and magic. Now, some of you may question the veracity of my logic, or wisdom, on this subject. And that is completely fine, but it drives the point I want to make this week concerning the Brotherhood...

No matter what your dreams are in the Brotherhood... you can achieve them. You simply must... begin it.

THE FIN

I look forward to the announcement of some new Battle Team Leaders this week. Additionally, I expect to see the lot of you welcome the new faces we have in our clan and be sure to give Jonaleth a hearty slap on the back for returning to serve his House and Clan. Our productivity/activity as a group is down considerably, we can correct that by, simply, participating in the events available.

And remember... whatever you can do, or dream you can... begin it!

I am, your servant,

Braecen Kaeth

Consul of Clan Plagueis

Safeguarder of Sheep

Braecen Kaeth (Dark Side Adept) / CON-EP / Clan Plagueis

[GMRG: RG3-G] [KSoE:FE] [ACC: CE:3]

RS / AK / SB / GC-PoDP / SC-SoA / AC-RoF / DC-GP / GN-BL / SN-BL / BN-BL / Cr-3D-12R-24A-32S-15E-11T-6Q / PoB-AgL / CF-PlF / DSS-PL / SI-AuL / SoF-AgL / SoL-BE / LS-GL / S:-2R-18Al-19D-7Dk-9P

{SA: MVN - DML - DMW - DMP - SVT}

You are not what you were born, but what you have it in yourself to be...