Greetings Gladius!

With the events of the joint Gladius-Cestus comp finally over and Thanksgiving quickly behind us it's time once again to swing back into action. There is a new comp that starts tomorrow for Gladius. More on that in just a bit.

Now the results of the join comp havent been totally revealed. Expect that in the next week. I would like to think all those that participated. We had a good time, but it also showed we need to work on a few things. Once the results are posted, I'll send them to you and then we can start going over what we need to do as a House to get our scores up.

The first thing we need to look at it member retention. We are looseing a lot of new members to obscurity because we, especially myself, haven't been active enough in retaining them. I don't want to close a battleteam, but I might if things continue to progress this way. BTLs need to talk one on one with thier members. Communication is key to everything. Of this we are all well aware.

I have been lax in my own reporting, mostly because my schedule was hectic but more lately due to internet connection problems. Even though AED Scion does a fantastic job at his reports, I need to get back on the ball myself. As does the BTLs. With the Great Jedi War looming over our heads, we as a House need to buckle down at get ready.

The Great Jedi War.

The Great Jedi War is the largest event the Brotherhood has. It is where legends are made and clans are broken. This is the most important event, you as a member, can be apart of. It is also the most fun. The outcome of this War changes the landscape of the Brotherhood. The last War changed everything in the DB. And I'm sure this one will do the same. It is rumored that after the Gread Jedi War, a DB clan will be closed. Now it's speculated that it will be the looser of the GJW. And its possible that two clans might close. Now we don't know for sure, but its something to think about. Participation in this GJW is vital to the exsistance of Clan Tarentum. I don't want to be looking for another home if we loose. I've been in Clan Tarentum in one aspect or another, for many many years. This is my home and this is where I want to stay.

The key to the GJW is participation. We need everyone to participate in as many events as possible. Gladius has always strived itself on quality. While I don't want our quality to lack, even the slightest, I want our number of events we participate in to grow by a large order of magnitude. There are so many kinds of events to participate on, there is no reason we cant make our mark. The events range from fiction, to gaming, to run-ons, to poetry, to.. well no one knows yet. There were a LOT of individual events the last time. I belive somewhere along the lines of twenty or more. That's a lot of stuff we can get in on.

If you enter an event, enter to win. Never strive for anything less. But make sure you do your part and stand up to be counted. Show them House Gladius and Clan Tarentum as a whole will not loose and that we are something to fear. Our Clan has always been outsiders to the rest of the DB, but we have always been respected. Now, let's make them fear.

If you havent taken the time to look at the DJB wiki pages and look up the Clan's history, I suggest you to do before the War. It will put everything into prespective for you. I even learned a few things I wasn't aware of before. But it will show you what we have to loose if we do not set out to win this War. We have a glorious history, let's make sure we continue to add it.

   Things to work on.  

What we need to work on, as far as our skills, is our run-on and short story writing. The last run-on we did was good, but it showed we needed to look at the details. Make sure you read the posts ahead of yours and take note of the details. Make sure if someone posted they have a certain item, that they do not have something completely different in your post. Also be aware of spelling and grammar. Try to run your posts through a spell and grammer checking device. Make sure what you submit is the best you can.

Fiction peices are the same, but you get more time with it. Take your time for fiction, come op with a plot line for your story. Set out a timeline of certain events if you want. Always make sure you re-read what you've written and look for anything out of place.

What I would like to see (if I can swing it) is getting one of the more experienced writers, like DA Troutrooper or DA Telona to host a class or even a very small competition on writing skills. If someone accomplished as they are can give you feedback, I think it would help everyone involved tremendously. God knows I need help myself sometimes. :)

Now one thing im not worried too much about, but would STILL like to see more participation is the gaming. The gamers in our House are some of the best in the DB, but that doesnt mean we can't have more people out there participating. Dox and Ocih are two great gamers, but more is always better. I'd like to know if any of you have a gaming interest, and if so, what kind of games you like. I'm not for certain on the types of games in the next War, but JA/JO/BF1&2 are almost certainly on the table. We'll know when we get closer.

Current Competitions.

Right now, we have a House comp that starts tomorrow. The story takes up where the run-on left off. The fight with Cestus may be over, but the escape from Samur remains. With Yuuhzan Vong still close by, Gladius needs to get back to thier shuttle and escape before the Vong can track them down. Write about our escape from the Yuuhzan Vong and back to Clan Tarentum. Minimum of one page in length and size 12 font.

This is a short and easy comp for us to write about. Good thing is, its not a week long! You have 10 days for this comp. Send all submissions to me. So yes Scion, you can participate. :)

There is also the Clan Trivia! Check the message board at http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/forum/index.php?showforum=23.

For those of you in the Keepers Battle team, Windos has his comp running. Character Development #1 http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/competitions.asp?ID=3990

I will also be throwing out a few more comps in the next few days. More than likely by the weekend. Stay tuned for that.

I am also going to condcut a House wide AWOL check starting tonight. I know the Battle Teams have been conducting thier own, but I want to go ahead and do this as well. From tonight, you have two weeks to reply to me, AED Scion and your respective BTL. Two week should be plenty of time to get back with us.

And with that, that ends this report. Ill send another email out with comp details this week. Stay Tuned!

"The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they are when you kill them."

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KAP Apollo (Krath)/QUA Gladius of Tarentum

Cr-3E/ SI / S:-1P

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