The progress of the Journeymen was heartening. Of course, nothing less than focus and motivation was expected for the up-and-coming warriors of Tarentum under the watchful eyes of Rekio Corsair. The Sith legend had taken it upon himself to stand with those who were making their own ascent to the vaunted Knighthood that beckoned them on like a tantalizing lover, promising them untold power if they would but give themselves over to the Dark Side of the Force. The aspirants to power and supremacy had begun to explore and tap into the reserves of darkness and strength within them. Soon enough, with Rekio's talent, his skill, his experience and his own dedication, he would bring these Journeymen to unimaginable heights, or perhaps depths of potency.

Each of Tarentum's Journeymen was a seed that had already been planted into the soil of the Force at the Shadow Academy, and had already begun to bear roots and sprout into greatness. They were warriors, mercenaries, soldiers of a varied sort. They were already more than they had been before the Brotherhood, because now, they had the Dark Side to empower them. In time, the Journeymen of Tarentum would rise to Knighthood and Mastery, but already, they could best perhaps any handful of regular men under motivated circumstances. The Journeymen of Tarentum were weapons being honed further in the refiner's fire that was Rekio Corsair, one of the Sith'ari, the chosen.

"Their growth is assured under the tutelage of the Hero of the Sith Wars."

Rekio turned his head slightly, acknowledging the Quaestor's presence but a moment before turning his gaze completely back to the Journeymen in his charge. Rekio had been training those in attendance in some of the more-experienced techniques of starfighter combat. These were the Journeymen who had displayed an aptitude, for vehicular warfare, and would potentially be involved in space combat for Tarentum. They had been instructed, and were practicing the techniques Rekio had presented to them in advanced simulators. In several hours more, these Journeymen would be occupying cockpits in actual fighters, executing these maneuvers in live drills repeatedly, seeking mastery of these course in their education.

"They are powerful in their own right," Rekio continued to watch the exterior displays of each simulator, exhibiting the computerized practice of each student. "They are doing well, but come to this table with their own noteworthy abilities and experience. I'm simply helping them to reach for their own expanded talents in new ways, refining what's already there."

"And doing a commendable job of it, old friend," Bloodfyre nodded approvingly.

"What can I do for you today?" Rekio could sense something on the Shaevalian's mind, but Corsair had not used the Force to probe his thoughts. The Sith Master was generally known to be unreadable, but between the two, it was unnecessary. Bloodfyre and Corsair had been friends and allies for so long, there was an unbreakable bond between them. They knew and understood each other intuitively.

"I'll be leaving Yridia shortly, to call upon our Arconan allies," Sith began in response. "I need to meet with Zandro. It's about time to solidify a personal alliance between he and I as much as their House and ours remain unified. It will help to maintain, and strengthen us."

"Much like how it had been with you and Mejas," Rekio commented.

"Precisely."

"So what can I do for you?" Rekio probed further.

"If Elols requests," Bloodfyre continued, "I told him to look to you for advice and input as needed. He is experienced and capable, but it is always helpful to have a listening ear."

"As you wish," Rekio nodded slightly. "What do you think will come of your meeting with Zandro?"

Bloodfyre fell silent a moment, perhaps pondering what was on the screens of each simulator, or the faces of each member of Tarentum within. The Sith Master then turned and began to walk away from his long-time friend, and answered as he exited the area.

"The future."

What Lies Ahead

Aloha, and greetings again, to Tarentum especially, but to everyone else reading this, as well. As far as what lies ahead for Tarentum in the future, I'd like to begin by mentioning our alliance with Arcona.

Zandro and I have had a few discussions regarding exactly how we can strengthen our alliance, and really try and push our two Houses ahead by the unity and friendship that we hold together. Quite honestly, I consider Arcona to be some of my closest friends outside of the bounds of Tarentum. Where Tarentum is, to me, much like kin, Arcona is a deep, abiding friendship that I have held for years, and I know many of them feel the same towards those of us they've had the time and experience to get to know.

Some of the ideas Zandro and I have discussed are interesting to me. The idea has been put out that, with the degree of friendship and the bond we all want to perpetuate between us, there may not be a reason behind having many "Arcona specific" or "Tarentum specific" competitions. Some, for certain, but with as deep as we try to be with each other, it seems like we ought to be competing more, and opening our doors to each other in meaningful ways.

As Zandro and I work together to really help direct this unity, we may begin by opening up more competitions to each other. Any Tarentum competitions for all of us will likely also include them, and vice versa. In the past, there have been examples of this, where Tarentum competitions have been opening to Arcona, because it is only reasonable and appropriate that they would be fictionally involved. What does this mean for you, and for them? More opportunities to work together, and to compete with each other. We ought to be writing with them in our fictional events, our run-ons, and our House fictional updates ought to include them as appropriate. Our gamers ought to be engaging theirs, and teaming with theirs, and really pushing each other to new heights. We ought to be seeing each other as friends and brothers as much as we see them as Clubmates, and vice versa.

In short, whatever we do, we ought to be doing it side-by-side with Arcona. I know Dash would like it chest-to-back, but Dash doesn't always get what he wants.

Writing Update

Oberst has asked that everyone who wants to be writing in Tarentum send him some examples of your work. This is not to "be admitted" as a writer; if you want to write in Tarentum, you are already entered as a writer. You are allowed to participate exactly as you wish.

Instead, what Oberst is looking to do is coordinate things for us. He needs examples of your work so that he can coordinate you according to your skill level. Those who are at an "Apprentice" level (I'm not sure what terms he will be using to allocate members) will receive help and challenges according to your level of writing ability. You will be assisted by an impressive writer and editor, and if you put forward honest effort, and really open yourself up to his advice, I promise Oberst will be a firm, but exceptional tutor for all of us. He will definitely make you a better writer, and the challenges he provides are entertaining and engaging. Those who are of a "Senior" level (again, not sure what terms he will use) will receive challenges of your own, but will also be asked to help our "Apprentice" writers with mentoring responsibilities as time permits. This will be a secondary duty, as often, learning by teaching can be the best way to refine and expand our skills. Those assigned to an "Experienced" level (or however it gets termed) will generally be involved with the majority of assisting Oberst with teaching, and with challenging the entire group of writers. If you have skill and exhibit it frequently, you will be challenged by Oberst, but you will also be asked to share your wealth of knowledge and skill to the rest of our writers. You will be able to exhibit your best work to the rest of Tarentum for us all to learn from.

Oberst has a great deal in store for all of us to be challenged by, and learn from. Get in touch with him. Send him examples of your best work, so that he can figure out what group to place you into, and how we can all help each other to rise to expanded levels and abilities. It'll be a good system to be a part of. Oberst's email is [Log in to view e-mail addresses], as always.

Gaming Update

Smoke recently emailed the Tarentum Googlegroup list with some information regarding gaming. Smoke and Archean are experienced members, excellent gamers, and tenured leaders within Tarentum, and the Brotherhood as a whole. They have ideas for promoting gaming within our House, and really helping us all to improve our skills as gamers. Even more than that, though, they really want to see us all have some leisure activity, entertainment, and complete good times within the games we play. This Club is all about having fun, and just doing stuff because we're with friends, we're with family, and we feel like doing something we can all smile about.

If you're a gamer, let Smoke and Archean know which games you have, and which games you'd like to play. Let them know when you generally have time to play. We'd like to start working with Arcona on regular "fun competition" days, when we can all just spend some time messing around in Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy, Battlefront, or whichever games we all happen to play. This is really to help us all incite new friendships, and solidify and deepen current friendships. But that all begins with each of us keeping in contact with our friends and family within the Brotherhood, and communicating openly with the intent of helping each other grow. One of the things we can certainly improve upon is communication. We're friends and family here, and we really try to impress upon each other how much we actually like to talk, interact, and spend time among the membership of Tarentum, and of Arcona.

If you're going to game in Tarentum, make sure to keep in regular contact with Smoke and Archean. Smoke's email is either [Log in to view e-mail addresses] or [Log in to view e-mail addresses], and Archean's email is [Log in to view e-mail addresses] (make sure to email them both, but you don't need to email both of Smoke's accounts).

What If I Want To Do Both?

That's what she asked? Hah!

No, seriously though. If you feel like gaming AND writing, you're more than welcome to. Quite frankly, I don't think anyone should be limited, except as you all feel appropriate. Personally, I prefer writing, but I have several of the Brotherhood-utilized games, and when the mood strikes me, I try to play a few matches with friends. I like playing JA with Archean, and when I find the time, I try to get in matches with whoever is around. I'll be looking forward to finding a match when I can with Arconans, and it's even fun to make jokes and get owned by the Bryar Bitches (a.k.a. Taldryan). I have a lot of great friendships all across the Brotherhood, friends in each House, and I'd encourage you to be as involved in both gaming and writing as you see fit. A lot of the Brotherhood is fiction-based, but there's fun to be had in playing a few matches with people who will end up being some of your best friends online.

Request A Header Girl

Just in brief, I've got a few different report headers, all for your viewing enjoyment. I've also decided, if you have a request for a specific header girl, I'll be editing them in, and doing report headers on a rotating basis. Some will be re-used, some will be one-time-only. All pictures may show curvature, but no nudity. If you have a picture you'd like me to use, email it to me ([Log in to view e-mail addresses]), and I'll probably put it up. If you have a girl in mind, toss a comment on my reports. It's all in good fun. Maybe if we get enough female members, another Quaestor or DCer could be convinced to put up header guys. Either way, enjoy the header girls, and feel free to request one if you like.

I think that'll be it for this week. As I mentioned in my first report, these will be submitted every 1-2 weeks, depending on what's been happening, what's on my mind, and when I really feel the need to make sure everyone gets an update on activity and fictional status of Tarentum. Scion has mentioned that he still has his "Activity Tracking Report" website/function available for Tarentum's use, and as I have time this weekend, I'm going to be looking into what it's capable of, and figuring out the best way to put that to use. I appreciate Scion keeping that around for all of us to benefit from.

Additionally, Wiki changes and updates are coming slowly but surely, and there's a lot of fictional advancement coming as we step ahead in the next weeks and months. I've got a lot in store for preparing Yridia fictionally for all of our members, and promoting information for all of us to benefit from. Every member of Tarentum is valuable, and that will be reinforced both functionally, as well as fictionally. Everyone will have challenges presented to them, and opportunities available for all of our growth.

One of the best opportunities for our Journeymen will be Rekio Corsair, and Raimi Mistwalker. Rekio has stepped forward and has been trying to develop friendships and relations with each of our Journeymen, and he and Raimi, the House's Rollmaster, have taken on the job of trying to help guide and enhance our Journeymen. If you need assistance with anything, those two are the ones who are specifically set aside for your benefit. Rekio's email is [Log in to view e-mail addresses], and Raimi's is [Log in to view e-mail addresses], so if you're a Journeyman who needs help with anything, a new friend, or whatever it is, definitely email those two. Elols and I are always happy to talk to, get to know, and help everyone, but Rekio and Raimi have specifically asked, and volunteered to help with Journeymen making their way towards Knighthood.

As always, keep your eyes peeled for updates and news, and keep an eye on things going on within the main site, and all areas pertaining to the Brotherhood. Start hanging out on IRC with us in #tarentum, or the Brotherhood's main channel of #db. We're on the IRC Undernet, and if you're not sure how to get there, toss out an email, and we'll help you out.

Have a great week, Tarentum!

-DJM Sith Bloodfyre-Tarentae Quaestor, House Tarentum Sith Order