**Arcona Citadel <b></b>

The handsome glow of Marick's youthful features did well to hide the fatigue pushing down against his eyelids. The Force was powerful in its ability to augment the mind and body, but the only thing that seemed to keep the Hapan on his feet was his recent taking to drinking caf. Marick tended to stray from anything that altered the way his body functioned. Between the closing of Oblivion, and the loss his Aedile, the Queastor did not see much alternative.

Not to mention Shadow Gate's future, the development of our base of operations on Ol'val, the upcoming war...

Marick continued to stare off into space as he ran through the catalogue of things he should be doing. He purposely omitted the notion of sleep. It was not until the doors to the Throne Room opened that he forcefully stepped away from his thoughts. He did well to disguise his reaction to the sound so that anyone paying attention to him would only notice a slight turn of his chin and a minute shift in his pupils.

The Queastor stood in front of the largest assembly of Arconans he had seen since the re-clanning. They had each been pulled from their respective missions if leave was permitted. Next to him stood a relaxed Zandro Arconae, who looked to be fully recovered from yet another one of his captivity ordeals. On the Consul's other side stood Talos and Celahir Erinos, the leaders of House Galeres. Besides them stood a distracted Sashar Arconae--who appeared to be reviewing data on his PDA--as well as an attentive Cethgus Entar.

Marick glanced over at Timeros, who stood at the Hapan's left shoulder. He too seemed to be distracted by his PDA. Marick would never understand how his old master handled his role as Combat Master on top of acting Rollmaster for the entire clan.

Next to Timeros stood his quiet yet always alert brother Legorii Entar. The Anzat had always been there when Marick had needed him, and he knew that his trusted friend always would be. It was time to continue moving forward.

Seemingly on cue, Invictus stepped in through the great doors to the Throne Room chamber. All eyes seemed to shift towards the Chiss and the similarly colored Proconsul that led him. Marick reached out through the Force and could sense the newcomers mixed feelings of curiosity and intriuge. He noted the way he carried himself, seemingly immune to the sea of eyes shifting towards him.

_Good, <i> Marick mused to himself.

Wuntilla made his way to the dais besides Zandro, and Invictus fell into the empty spot next to his Queastor that he assumed was where he should go. He felt the Hapan's gaze follow his every step, but detected no sign of movement from any other part of Marick's body. He just stood with his hands clasped casually behind his back, weight perfectly balanced between each side of his body with subtle grace.

Zandro stepped forward, and the murmurs around the room fell silent. “Brethren, we are gathered to welcome a new addition to our ranks. Dralin's resignation has left a vacuum that, in these troubled times, we can scarce afford. We put out a call to the Brotherhood asking that those as thought themselves able join us to fill that void. After much searching, we have chosen Invictus. His experience and wisdom is another powerful addition to our ranks, and I trust you will give him the same respect you would me. ”

Zandro surveyed the room quickly and sensed no signs of disagreement. He stepped back and motioned for Invictus to step forward.

Marick watched Invictus carefully as he stepped to the podium. He was confident, yet not overbearing. After meeting with a few applicants, it had not taken the Summit long to settle on the Chiss. He had left the politics of taking a member from a rival clan to Wuntilla, but had a good feeling about the decision. Something in the Force told him it was the right call. Invictus addressed the silent crowd.

“I know but a few of you. That will soon change. Many of you, though, I have long known by reputation. I have fought beside some of you, and fought against even more.” Invictus drew a breath, the scars on his forehead once more appearing, however briefly, like a bloody eye opening.

Marick had indeed fought against the Chiss before. In the Combat Center, he had lost in their duel. The Prelate had an old fashioned belief that a person's true nature was revealed through combat. Perhaps that also bolstered the Hapan's confidence in the decision.

|=O=| As Marick, Legorii and Invictus exited the shuttle and stepped into the Port Ol'val docks, they were greeted by a long haired human standing with a broad grin and his arms folded across his chest. Legorii lofted a brow and hid his reaction. "Legorii, I'd like you to meet your replacement," Marick chuckled.

Invictus stayed quiet, a bit lost in the exchange.

"Greetings, Brother," Sanguinius beamed. Legorii grunted but the brothers clasped each other's forearms in mutual understanding. Legorii offered a lazy salute to Invictus and Marick and headed off in his own direction.

Turning to look at his new team, Marick motioned with his hand.

"Come, there is much to do..."

Both Sanguinus and Invictus fell into stride behind their young leader.

|=O=|

Report

Welcome to another House Qel-Droma Queastor Report. As you can tell from the fictional introduction, we have a few exciting things to announce! On top of that, I want to give a warm welcome to all of our new additions to our house. I will try my best to make this report as informative and relevant as possible for you, and as usual, if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns, feel free to drop me a line anytime: [Log in to view e-mail addresses]

This report is brought to you in part by the letter "W" and the word: "Winning".

Announcements

** The hunt for a new Aedile is over. I'd like everyone to welcome Invictus to Arcona and House Qel-Droma. Invictus comes to us from rival clan Naga Sadow. Fear not, though. We made him shower multiple times before joining our ranks! Kidding aside, Invictus (as his pin of #91 suggest) has been around for a long time and has held multiple leaderships over his long tenure including Combat Master. He is wise and understanding and I would implore each of you to take the opportunity to pick his brain or speak with him. He has already thrown himself headfirst into the development of HQD as well as touching base with each of the new members. Expect more info from his own report coming out later towards the middle of the month.

** Following that, I'd like to first thank Legorii for his dedication as BTL of Oblivion and then Shadow Gate. Due to real life time constraints, he needs to pass the torch, though. I'd like everyone give a big warm welcome to Sang! Sang has been around the block a few times, and while many of you may be more familiar with his mother, it is an honor to have him as part of my team. Expect some updates to Shadow Gate coming as we continue on the path of revamping House Qel-Droma!

** On that note, I'd also like to add that even though Oblivion has closed, that does not mean there will be no other Battle Teams besides Shadow Gate. As it stands now, I feel this is our best bet right now in terms of having proper guidance for our newer members and a place to feel of for as veteran members. We have been getting more and more new members with the impending release of TOR, and I anticipate this will continue to be a trend as we get closer and closer to launch. With that in mind, I would love nothing more than to re-open another Battleteam. I want to see the drive from YOU, the new members, though. Give me the confidence and a reason to open another team. I was only a Guardian when I was made Battleteam leader of Oblivion, so don't think that rank has anything to do with it. Activity is rewarded here, and it all comes down to you, the members. I look forward to seeing what you've got!

** The Great Jedi War is coming. I'm sure a lot of you have been hearing about this, so for our newer members let me try and explain. The GJW is basically the Olympic games for the Brotherhood. It pits each Clan and Independent House against the other in each of the various platforms available in the DJB, including the ACC, Fiction, Graphics, Gaming, and much more. The reason we stress preparation for this so much is that these only come once every few years. The winner get's bragging rights for a long time. A lot of pressure is on us to walk the walk that we've been talking. There is no doubt in my mind that we will rise to the occasion. Leading up to the GJW I want everyone to have a single mindset. It's simple; "Winning." There is no other alternative.

** In other relevant news: the announcement for SW: The Old Republic has gone <b>live!</b>. Preorder is now available. Follow THIS LINK for further information. I already dropped way too much money on the Collector's edition. If anyone else is so inclined, and living in the USA, I recommend using Amazon. No sales tax, and I got my code right away. What's more disturbing is how screwed I will be for time come the holidays. Between TOR, the eventual release of D3, and then Skyrim, Gears 3, and Mass Effect 3...I..don't know how I'm going to be able to choose. Oh well, I was social for four years of college...

** Lastly, I would just like to say that I can't believe it's not butter! (Believe it.)

Recognition

Moving away from my ramblings, here is my favorite part of the report. We have a lot of new members, so a lot of exciting things to report! I will be focusing on HQD members only (from the time of my last report), and if I miss something please let me know.

<b> Promotions </b> <li>Vargas Promoted from APP to NOV to ACO to Protector! (whoop!)</li> <li>WalkerBoh Promoted to Protector! </li> <li>Kima Kagge: Promoted from APP to NOV to Acolyte! </li> <li>Kerr'ek Thrall: Promoted from APP to NOV to Acolyte! </li>

<b>Medals</b>

• Marick (me): x2 Clusters of Fire (go me!)

• Ronovi: Dark Cross (for being awesome)

• Ronovi: Crescent w/ Sapphire Star (2nd Place in O:AI for the ACB)

Competitions

<b>Arcona Competitions</b> Sam has a few very easy comps up. There's no reason you shouldn't do them, they can most be completed in a matter of minutes.

[Flash Games Bonanza!] Robot Unicorn Attack | [Flash Games Bonanza!] Yeti Sports | <a href="http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/competition.php?id=5814&#195;&#131;&#194;&#162;&#195;&#162;&#226;&#128;&#154;&#194;&#172;&#195;&#130; >[Arcona] An Improvised Script | <a href="http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/competition.php?id=5813&#195;&#131;&#194;&#162;&#195;&#162;&#226;&#128;&#154;&#194;&#172;&#195;&#130; >The Return of Zandro: Comic Strip

<b> Brotherhood Competitions </b>

Instead of posting all the various competitions that are going on throughout the brotherhood, I'm going to link you to the activities page: http://darkjedibrotherhood.com/dbjedi/competitions.php

From here, there are filters you can apply, such as the incredibly useful, "Stuff that matters to me" filter. This will allow you to see the DC's (Dark Council) events as well as any that you are eligible to participate in. I'd recommend having it book marked and added to your queue of things to do when procrastinating more important things like paying bills...coughs

<-

From the Commissioner's Office: Arcona Contract Bureau

ACB Main Page

I'd like to thank everyone for participating in the ACB portion of Operation: AI. We've now hit over 40 contracts. I'd also like to thank everyone for their cooperation and willingness to help out and work with me as I develop the ACB. I'm currently working on a proposal to have the ACB become a part of the ACC and adapted into the Brotherhood as a whole. If you have any interest in helping out, please drop us a line at: [Log in to view e-mail addresses].

Now, a few of you newer members might be asking, "what is the ACB?". Fortunately, there is a brilliant Q&A for you guys to read: http://goo.gl/pnhyf

As it stands now, I consider the ACB still in its "BETA" run, so I'm constantly evaluating what can be changed, and what can be tweaked for the better. That goes for grading, as well as time limit. The ACB is supposed to be a way for you tailor a writing event to your own taste. I don't want it to ever feel like a chore, and want it to work FOR you. Keeping that mind, if you need more time on a contract, just let me know. I have no problem doing that. Just let me know what's going on. If I don't hear from people, I will start closing contracts, which as per the rules will net you -2 on the ladder standings.

Also, there will be a new grading system I'm rolling out. I will be adding a 4th tier to the grading called "Superior". These will be reserved for the truly remarkable contracts that stand out from the rest. I feel that this allows for a bit more complexity in the ability to critique and offer feedback on the work you do. So, to recap it will now be: Needs Work, Satisfactory, Excellent, Superior.

Questions or comments you know what to do.

Closing Time/TL;DR

So, let's look at a quick summary of this report;

<b>TL;DR

• Invictus is new AED of House Qel-Drom

• Sang is the new BTL of Shadow Gate

• Journeyman Promoted

• Ronovi medaled for being awesome

• Arcona Contract Bureau grading updated, Request Contracts!

• TOR on Pre-Order! zOMG

• RL/Paying bills sucks, so procrastinate by taking part in DB activities!

• Wally can't believe it's not butter!

• Oh, and the GJW is coming. (Believe it.)

</b>

As I mentioned in my last address, I'd like to use this space here to answer questions from you guys! I will take questions in my inbox, or from Formspring. Any question asked on Formspring is answered in-character as Marick. If you would like to ask anything on there: (http://formspring.me/MarickDelAbbot) This week, our beloved GM Muz asks: <i>"What is your personal goal in the Dark Brotherhood?" </i> Marick responds: "I wish to continue representing my Clan in a positive light and do everything in my power to make sure Arcona stays at the top. I'd also like to win an ACC Championship, or at least prove myself as one of the best in the DB." Ronovi also asks: <i>"What is Marick's favorite alcoholic drink?"</i> Marick responds: " I don't drink or do anything that would alter my ability to think or function in a given situation. After leading Oblivion for so long, I've learned that I always need to be on my guard and at my best. I cannot afford to ever not be at 100%." Myself, I rock whiskey-ginerale all day and all night! Until next time guys. May you find order in the chaos of the darkness, -Marick Del'Abbot</i>_**