Aloha and good afternoon, both to Black Phoenix, and to Reinthaler as a whole.

Very little to report on this one. As far as I am aware, nobody in Black Phoenix is active. And, if they are, they're just not communicating, either with me, with each other, or with anyone who has mentioned to me, "Your team is active." Personally, I'd like to change this. I have said before, membership in Black Phoenix is completely voluntary; you have to actually want to be here. Those of you who do not wish to be here, like Knight, are welcome to email me back and say so, and I will pass that on to the House Summit, as I did with Knight, and help work to see you are removed from the Team.

For the rest of Reinthaler, if you wish to be a part of a Team that will help to enhance your experience here in the House, and work to help you grow as a writer, I encourage you to get a hold of me if you'd like to join. I'd love to have you in the Team. Yes, we do exercises meant to help you critique and evaluate what is, and what is not, good writing, but I'm also working on doing what I can to give you thoughts and ideas on how to improve. Right now, I'd just like to work on members who want to be here and be a part of the Team environment. So that's my first mission, is getting the Team to communicate, and the members to help me establish friendship with them. With you. Amongst us all. So far, no progress, but again, I'm hoping to change that.

I've decided that one of the things I can do to help enhance everyone is to share what experience I have within the various writing forums of the Brotherhood, and give you ideas on how we can all grow. The one thing I'd like to work on this week is the Antei Combat Center. As you may have seen in Halcyon's recent report as Voice of the Brotherhood, Erinyes is resigned as Combat Master, but there are, and likely always will be, plans to adapt and evolve the ACC for everyone's benefit. It's a place that focuses on what the Brotherhood calls "combat writing." That is, all writing focuses on one specific battle between you and at least one other member of the Brotherhood, be they in this Clan or any other. The ACC is utilized heavily in the Great Jedi Wars and Order Wars (which sound like they are making a comeback), and might be one area of interest to you.

The tips I'm going to give you this report focus on the Force as utilized in combat. The Force is one of those areas that can make or break any combat scenario, because it can be incredibly unbalancing, or groundbreaking and awe-inspiring. You can do a lot with the Force, even if it is not your own character that is accomplishing incredible feats. That's right, all characters involved in combat within the ACC are generally capable of using the Force. You need to pay close attention to ensure that as you write within the ACC, you give due attention, and due credit, to both characters within the fight. Even for those who have been around as long as myself, it can be easy to forget that the one you fight may be just as talented within the Force as you, or even more so. Each battle needs to be looked at from an outside, objective perspective. Who can win this fight? Who should win this fight? Who is capable of tossing bolts of fire, anger and lightning around like candy, and who would struggle to even lift a rock with the power of the mind? All these questions and more need to be asked, and then answered, within the realms of Force combat.

The best way to enhance this is to write out a simple idea for a combat post, and then enhance it by using the Force. Look at the movies for perspective. One of the best combat sequences that I refer to in the Star Wars movies is in The Empire Strikes Back, during the fight on Cloud City. Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker are battling, and Vader is almost baiting Luke, testing his strength, and finding him ultimately lacking. As the fight approaches its climax, and Luke is about to get tossed out of the broken window, Vader attacks a few times, but then uses Telekinesis to hurl items at Luke. As Vader fights with his lightsaber, the Force takes a back seat to the action. But when Vader recognizes that Luke is weak and tiring, unable to draw on the Force, then he begins to utilize his powers to show his inexperienced son just how much he (Vader) has learned and mastered.

You want to make your fights seem enhanced in this manner. The Force should not overwhelm a battle, but it also should not be hidden within the shadows. We are Dark Siders. We are Sith, or Obelisk, or Krath. We are powerful beings. Whether you are an Apprentice or a Dark Jedi Master, the Force is yours to command, albeit at different levels. Consider your abilities, and how they can enhance you.

In the past, I worked on a piece of information as a resource to help people see what I thought to be the defining abilities or insights into each rank. I had begun with Apprentice, and worked through to Jedi Hunter. For a time, Raiju was working on updating that resource. I have since decided I will likely be working on that again to assist with everyone understanding what they are capable of at each rank. This will also help you to better understand what opponents you may face in the ACC, and elsewhere. I'll try to work on that within these reports, as well.

Black Phoenix, I really hope those of you within the Team are still active, and want to be. I encourage you to get a hold of me, and help me to work with you on making this Team a success. It is not my own efforts that will define Black Phoenix, but rather, it is your desires, and your own efforts that go into making this Team a success or failure. I will do everything I am capable of to help you all to succeed, but I still need at least token efforts of motivation and communication from all of you. And, to the rest of Reinthaler, if you want to be a part of this Team, I would more than welcome you in if you choose to be here.

Have a great week everyone.

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-DJM Sith Bloodfyre-Tarentae (Sith)/CMDR/Reinthaler of Tarentum Grand Chamberlain of Tarentum The Ghost Dragon Bearer of the infinite kick assness Wielder of the holy keg of f**k you

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