::bow::

Servants of the Brotherhood,

We are already halfway through another month! And the signs foretell of a great, and grand, month of participation, completion and growth. None of the clan's success could be possible - at this level - without your continued, individual contributions. Each competition you submit to only strengthens my belief, and the fact, that our clan is quickly becoming a legitimate contender with its rival clans. Already, we have proven our might against Clan Arcona, but there are still opportunities for us to reach the same plateau as Scholae Palatinae; whom has won both a Clan Feud and the 2008 Independence Games this year. So let us keep working to attain such lofty heights.

Clan News

A resignation. We received word recently that Obelisk Templar Raiju Kang would be unavailable, as of now, to continue his leadership duties. I have always believed that we should place our family as the top priority in all things; Brotherhood included. And Raiju will be taking some time off to care for one of his family members. He goes forth with my honor and respect... and I hope a time will come where he can return to assist in the leadership of Satal Keto.

Projects. Quick dial-in on the wide-spread chaos. Jonaleth is working on Clan Lore. Yzarc is manning the CP Army Project. Alaris is redrafting our Naval documents. Cethgus is working alongside me on a variety of bits and pieces. Kal is redrafting planets in the wake of a Yuuzhan Vong invasion. Cern for our unspoken project. Famosus is drafting contact letters to build retention. Quejo is reworking the Master-Apprentice Program. Ralph is completing a clan-wide competition. Callus is proposing some additional depth to the Prodigies. Ood is manning the Forums for us. And Dacien and Arion continue to be my bump 'n run coverage on the web site.

It sounds like a lot of work... and it is. Be sure to thank and applaud each of them on their continued contributions to make this Clan better. Without their assistance, it would not be possible.

Represent the Clan. Quick note. Last month we had three participants in the Tribune: Fiction's competition "Unredeemable" and I know we can do better than that. Many thanks go out to Kal, Mehrunes and Brae-whoops, that is me-cen. This month we are blessed with two prominent competitions to prove our mettle to the Brotherhood: Madness (hosted by the Deputy Grand Master) and Reliquary (hosted by the Tribune: Fiction).

Talk to the Clan. I have noticed that IRC presence has dropped off lately. I would like to remind everyone that IRC, beyond e-mail, is our number one method of communication and interaction with our peers. From here several of our members have branched out to Team Speak, Ventrillo and Skype. Come join the fun!

Download: http://www.mIRC.com

Server: Undernet

Channel: #plagueis

Clan AWOL Results. Our roster was considerably thinned this week. I tasked each House with running their own program and, in the end, we cleared 32 inactive husks from the roster. The reason that we do this? When members are inactive and show no signs of life after eight-ten weeks - despite continuous efforts to contact them - they become a drain on our resources. To reduce the workload of the leadership team, we clean the roster of the dead weight so they can refocus on the members whom truly need their guidance and wisdom.

Brotherhood News

Tribune: Fiction Report: The Sith Warlord Raken released his latest installment with two important tidbits. First, make sure you are including the proper information in your submissions. When I (me) go to save the file I will be submitting, it would read: UnredeemableBraecen(4520)Plagueis.rtf. Make sure you are doing likewise with your submissions to Brotherhood-wide events cough*GreatJediWar*cough Second, Raken lists the participants to Unredeemable - good work for those whom did.

Link (to report): http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/comments.asp?ID=R:11982

Consular Announcements: The Dark Prophet Muz Keibatsu Sadow issued a press release that covered the retirement of CSP CON Phoenix and his replacement in Lucien Kaeth. Additionally, the position of Taldryan Consul is open to applications. Of course, if you are in Plagueis this automatically disqualifies you from consideration :-p

Link (to announcement): http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/comments.asp?ID=N:5380

Tribune: Gaming Announcement: The Obelisk Prelate Angelo Dante issued an announcement concerning the Gaming Brackets. If you have not checked on these (and you signed up) you need to do so immediately so the matches can be played and the round advanced.

Link (to announcement): http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/comments.asp?ID=N:5382

Combat Master Report: The Dark Jedi Master Sith Bloodfyre-Tarentae has issued another report from the Antei Combat Center. The report goes in-depth on what a quality Character Sheet is and is not. Additionally, for those of you whom are seeking to use custom weapons... be sure to read.

Link (to report): http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/comments.asp?ID=R:12001

The Message

Member empowerment.

Rarely enough do I hear, from the members, that they feel empowered to make a lasting, impacting change on the environment they reside in. Be it a Battle Team, a House, a Clan or the Brotherhood itself. Members are often caught up in the thought process that the only individuals whom can affect change are those whom reside on the Dark Council: the Grand Master, the Deputy Grand Master, the Master At Arms, the Herald, the Seneschal, the Head Master, and the Justicar or even the Consuls.

As it is, we place too much responsibility, and faith, in the hands of these individuals by allowing them the sole, creative license to guide the vision of our club. And so it makes it easy to criticize them when things do not go as planned or a project does not find fruition in the form we had hoped. And that is because finding flaws are easy. Finding solutions is not.

A lot of the Brotherhood is flawed. Yes, a lot of those flaws give us the character and uniqueness we strive for as an on-line club/community. Though, a considerable amount of them are oversights in continuity, a lack of imagination or the daring that we will 'one day' come back and work on it. For those of you whom are not familiar with leadership... there is a lot of work just fixing up a House or a Clan. The idea of responsibility for the entire Brotherhood - to many - would be far too daunting. And it is too much for twelve guys.

This is where you come in. The only way we can continue to provide new ideas is by sharing them. The only path to bringing those to fruition is through contributions from members themselves. And it all starts with empowering you... giving you trust, as owners of this club, to make decisions about what is important. And with that, allowing you to give us (your superiors), the benefit of the doubt in the event we postpone or reject your idea. It is not meant to be malicious or to circumvent your genius. Creativity and ingenuity are oft best reigned by wisdom and experience.

So here it is, folks. The 'ten words' you have been trying to find in all of this rabble. "I am giving you a blank check to be creative." If you see something that you believe needs work... come to me with your idea and I will do my best to help you refine it and make it come true.

THE FIN

I want to continually praise each of you for what you do on a daily basis. There are clans held together by the grit of their leadership team and there are clans held together by the members whom the leaders serve. And, in the past ten months, we have grown from a clan held together by sheer determination of a few to a clan envied by its peers for the amount of contributions our membership gives to Plagueis. Keep up the hard work!

And one quick, fun fact... I am now the Consul with the most reports... ever! Mwahahahahahahahahaha*cough*hack*cough*hahahahahahahahaha! I now must begin eyeing Kir's 940 days as a Consul... tis my last record to break!

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...