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Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of the Grand Master Report. This report is going to be my last from the great country of Iraq as I am in the process of transitioning back to the United States. I am going on LoA later this week and will let everyone know when I return home. I plan on taking a few additional days of LoA once I arrive home in order to can spend some needed time with my wife, daughter, and dog. <p>On to the report!<p>

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<p>News</p>

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Taldryan Consul=Shadow: Shadow has been appointed the new Consul of Clan Taldryan. Shadow's experience as a member of Clan Taldryan and his recent success as the T:G made him an easy selection for Consul. Congrats and good luck!<p>

Lucien=CSP Consul: DA Phoenix has resigned as the CSP Consul after a year plus of service. Phoenix's work as both a leader and a member of the Dark Brotherhood has been outstanding and we all owe him a debt of gratitude for his work in CSP. Luckily, CSP is not going to miss a beat as long time Proconsul Lucien steps into the Consul role. There was really no doubt who would take the reigns as the new CSP bossman and I look forward to seeing Lucien's work as Consul. Congrats Lucien! <p>

Day of the Fox: Muz did his outstanding DGM duties and handled the day of the Fox. Congratulations to those who were awarded with the Seal of Loyalty. This year, like years past, I am adding on to the list. <p>

Muz: For his continued Loyalty to the DB. Muz continues to be the hardest working member in the DB.

Kir: For his work in multiple areas within the Dark Brotherhood. Kir has volunteered his time and efforts in roles that far exceed his duties as JST.

Phoenix: For his work in CSP and as a Dark Council member over the past year.

Anshar: For his continued service to the Dark Brotherhood and his selfless decision to step down as HM and return to Clan Tarentum.

Help Wanted: I need a PHP coder to help prepare my GJW puzzle competition. Last year my event was hackable and several members completed it without actually solving the puzzles. This year I am looking for an actual coder to help me build a PHP page to make sure everyone actually solves the puzzles. Email me if you think you can provide this service. Unfortunately, you will not be able to compete in the event if you help code it. <p>

TFU: GM Competition: Congrats to Vlad, Yadar, Dan Stephens, and Cypha on winning my TFU competitions. You awards should be in the mail. <p>

DB History: I have just passed the latest update of the DB history to the Wiki gang. Hopefully we should see it up on the wiki and codex in the near term. <p>

Character Sheets: Beta Bugs are getting crushed like Mysql injectors and we should be good to go in a short amount of time. I'd like to thank Jac and the testers for their hard work in making this huge addition to our website a possibility. <p>

GJW: It seems like my last report may have spurred a little bit of interest in the GJW. For those of you who did not notice, the last GM report had multiple Easter Eggs hidden throughout, to include a few major changes that will occur following the GJW. <p>

A few updates<p>

1. Kir has assumed the role of Master of Ceremonies and will be handling a lot of the organizational duties and keeping track of all of our status reports. At present he is collecting the planned competition ideas and putting them down on paper. We hope to have this document to the Consuls for an early rules review.<p>

2. Raken is working away on the Plot despite my annoying habit of changing what I want to see happen. Despite my nagging, Raken has drafted a hell of a script and I do believe it is better than his last. Look for a few more fictional updates leading up to the GJW and I think we should all expect to see a few major events in DB fiction occurring once the actual competition does begin.<p>

3. The GJW will be judged by Sarin, Kir, Muz, Raken, Jac, Firefox, Shikyo, Kaek, and Aabs. I am also looking to have Dalthid step out of retirement and help us out on the fictional events. The graders are a collection of individuals who have served in various Clans with Plagueis, Arcona, CNS, Taldryan, and Tarentum having a little bit of representation in the group. <p>

4. I can confirm the following events: Puzzle competitions and code breaking in the exact same format as the last GJW. Weekly fiction. Run-ons. Battle Plans. Multiplayer gaming across all of our platforms. Single Player gaming across a few platforms. ACC. Live Trivia in the DB mIRC Channel. <p>

<p>Awards</p>

Congratulations: Medals: Korvyn on his AC, everyone on the SoLs, and a boatload of people on their Crescents!

Congratulations: Promotions: Vivackus, Ronovi, and Kara on Dark Jedi Knight! Dark Jedi Knight has always been the best promotion!

Raken Quote of the Week:<p>

wmf's- Raken<p>

<p>Real Life</p>

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Home sweet home: Maybe a few of you have read the newspapers or the internet and noticed that a few Brigades are coming home early from Iraq. I am happy to say that my Brigade is one of those lucky few. We were originally slated to remain in Baghdad until late January, but the security situation has improved drastically and we are not longer needed. I am very happy to be heading home and look forward to seeing everyone online at my normal United States hours. I also look forward to running into a a few of you and making you buy me free beer. Free beer always tastes better.<p>

I am not going to take a large amount of vacation after I arrive home because my wife is due with our second baby in January. I will take a few weeks of vacation at that time (right in the middle of the GJW, perfect timing!) to spend with my new kiddo.

<p>Final Thoughts</p>

Things are going good: It seems like it has been months since a major problem has happened in the DB. Everything seems to be smooth sailing and I appreciate everyone for their mature behavior. Of course, you are probably waiting for me to come home and then you will blow up the whole place.....

<p>Done!

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