Sadow Palace Sepros 12 years ago

Xanos stared out into the wilds, arms clasped behind his back, the Falleen's skin tinting a darker red as his Proconsul entered his office. The man was burning the candle at both ends, working for Mandaala and then Oscura, for Firefox, and for Sadow all at the same time. It was interesting to him that the man hadn't yet cracked under the pressure. It was even more interesting that he hadn't been able to suss out his ambitions. He had sat with him at length, trying to decipher his intentions, his goals...and found nothing.

"Consul?" His voice came slowly, not trying to disturb the Dark Jedi Master.

Xanos nodded slowly. The man had no real master among the Brotherhood, so he wasn't trying to impress one. He had made no attempts to take positions, only taking them on when he was convinced that he was the one best suited for the work. That seeming attitude of service irritated him. There had to be an ulterior motive.

"They've called me to Antei."

Xanos didn't move. Oscura had vanished a week ago, some said to join Michael Halcyon on Tatooine. Of course.

Light years away, a Kintan Strider piece moved across the board of it's own accord.

Darth Hasta's Estate Orsis millennia ago

She fell backwards, gathering blankets around her to shield her pale skin from the cold air that flowed from the balcony adjacent to the chamber. She watched as the Dark Lord stood up, moving boldly to the balcony. The dawn would be coming soon, the mist that added to the jungle gloom starting to rise from the undergrowth to the tops of the trees.

He turned from the view, letting the golden fire of his eyes fall on the Lady Hasta. "You always wanted a man with power..."

She let a rare smile crease her features as she propped herself up. "You have never left me wanting, husband."

He chuckled, a low sound that warbled beneath the mirth. Stepping closer to her, he let the subterfuge fade, his eyes focused on hers. He did not want to miss a moment of this pain, of this growing seed of hate as it took seat.

She blinked, not sure what to believe as she watched the familiar change. Tattoos faded into the skin that changed hues subtly. The crimson and gold trophies of Hasta's devotion to the Dark Side gave way to the black of the lord of Nathema. Her mouth worked wordlessly before she tried to crawl from the bed.

He bathed in the fear, letting his senses drink deeply of the Lady's misery. He stepped closer yet. "Your lord is dead. I drank his essence and left his corpse to rot."

The rage formed a blade in her spirit, breeding defiance which shone as she stood. "Do what you came here to do, then."

Vitiate smiled. "I already have."

Dark Hall Antei Yesterday

Kir stood silently before the cold iron of the ancient throne, letting his mind wander for a moment. It was more than a decade ago that he was Cotelin's Shadow Hand. Had things gone differently, his robes would have been lined with aurum rather than the crimson mark of the Justicar. His eyes refocused, the emerald sheen of the current Shadow Hand taking a strange hue with the dim torchlight of the throne room.

Familiarity was comforting, to some degree. Halcyon and he had been on the Dark Council in some capacity or another for the better part of their lives since they had found the Brotherhood. Fondness was there, but it was tempered in the constant wariness of the Dark Side. Ambition was a volatile fuel, and despite the efforts of the Council to keep brutality in check, it was always there, crouched low around the myriad corridors of the Dark Hall, the hidden fortresses of the Clans.

The guardsmen entered the room first, crimson and sable whispering into the room before the Fist stepped in, his armor polished to a bright sheen. The dull grind of stone from the hidden door on the other side of the throne heralded the Lion of Tarthos.

All took a knee, bowing heads in a sign of deference. Muz moved calmly to the side of the throne, letting a hand fall casually on the weathered metal seat of the Brotherhood. He tilted his head at them for a moment.

"My friends." He gestured at them to rise, dismissing the guardsmen with a nod of the head.

Kir shifted his weight as he stood. "It's time for me."

Muz nodded slowly. He had seen this coming for some time now. Halcyon and he had discussed it at length, contingencies set into motion. The Brotherhood could not go without a Justicar, and the selection process for a new one was rife with political machinations and worse. It was like blood in the water.

"It is." Muz responded with a measured tone. He let his hand fall from the throne to the saber at his hip. Kir followed it with his eyes. The blade spilled from the hilt as quickly as the hilt filled his hand, the golden light falling across them. The blade seared through the air with a flick of his wrist, bringing the humming light to within millimeters of Kir's shoulder, the sound alone trembling the high collar of his jacket.

Kir realized he had been holding his breath. He had not gone into this expecting his life to end with his service. Halcyon didn't move, and a stream of hateful language stirred beneath his mind at the former Taldrya's complacency.

The blade shifted, spinning overhead to the other side of his shoulders, casting its pale color on his right side this time, but did not drink of the flesh. Kir looked up at the Dark Lord, curiosity tinging his gaze as the saber blade evaporated back into the aurum hilt.

"You've served the Brotherhood for a long time, Katarn." Muz slid the saber back into its holster at his belt. "It's time you are named for what you are: a Lord among the Sith."

Today marks the end of my third year as Grand Master of the Dark Brotherhood. That's a record for longest term for a single term of Grand Master, and pretty close for longest time as Grand Master for any amount of terms so far. Jac's first term is the wild card there, since I can't find how long he was seated that time.

At any rate, a lot has happened in the three years, and I'm hoping that the progress and work will continue. I have been blessed with a great and capable Dark Council, and even though we are sadly losing Kir as Justicar, I am confident that we'll continue on.

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Recently, I asked the Dark Councilors and heads of the Clans and Houses to do what we call 'Internal Reports'. While most reports are made with the intent to keep the members aware of things that are going on with their respective units and projects, Internal Reports are made so that I can see the things that are going on behind the scenes. These are great tools to help make sure that everything is moving along at a good clip and that everyone is getting rewarded for their efforts.

Now that those reports are all in, I'll be responding to them over the next week or so.

On top of that, there's a planned AWOL check set for the beginning of next month. Between internal reports and the results of the AWOL check, a full 'State of the Brotherhood' report will be in the making.

As for the AWOL check, watch for emails from a designated email address and respond to those as they arrive. Korras and Dash will probably also put up a news post when the first batch goes out, also.

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The Old Republic. Just a brief note here. The Dark Jedi Brotherhood has THE dominating guild on our server. We're the only guild that has completed all the raids on Nightmare mode. Between the three guilds: the main guild, our alternate character guild, and the republic side lighty guild, we also have a great base of community. The brotherhood chat in-game is almost always active, and Ventrilo can be pretty happening, too.

Also, I managed to get to level fifty on Sunday. Big thanks to Teu, Khorvus, and Ash'otep for helping me grind levels for the past month or so. Also, it was pretty cool to run my first HardMode flashpoint with Jac Cotelin and a couple other members. Unfortunately, we didn't smash it to bits as though we were playing our DB characters, but still, pretty fun.

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If you haven't read the fiction (as I know only about a fifth of us do), You may have missed that Kir Katarn, after five years of service as Justicar, is retiring. He has been working hard on his Medical School work, and has elected to return to Taldryan's Old Folks Home. As a fitting send-off, Halcyon and I have decided to honor him as a Sith Lord, bringing him into a very small group of those who have made definitive and positive impact to the Brotherhood over a span of many years.

I'm kinda curious as to what Darth Name he will choose, if any.

Thank you again, Kir. We're going to play hell trying to replace you.

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With the Ambition's Order-Based run on coming up, there's quite a few people running around and setting up teams. I have four people confirmed on my Krath team. Shikyo, Ashia, Vodo and myself are going to do what we Krath do best: win writing events. Is there anyone out there with the skill to jump in on this team?

I know Socorra and Jeric were kinda talking about joining us, but I haven't confirmed either of them. Let me know. ;)

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The Antei Combat Centre is running their Fifth Championship Ladder, and some of the matches are into the second rung of the ladder already. This is always a cool thing to watch, as many of the best battles that the ACC has ever had have come championship ladders. Also, it's pretty interesting because this means that the ACC is starting to line up for a 'Supreme Championship' where the champs duke it out themselves. And while Halc is probably not looking forward to a rematch at all... Too bad. ;)

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I've been working on some gfx, including another GMRG-influenced saber for the Guard to earn, a new set of robes for Sarin (or whatever his new character is called after the Sarin Character died in the recent Arconan event), a saber that has been taking me forever for tyno, and then a bunch of other cool stuff that isn't quite ready for launch yet.

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Ask the GM time.

Many people ask "Can I be the Justicar?"

Justicar is an incredibly important position. They are responsible not only for upholding the system of justice and making sure that the covenant is followed, but also is an integral adviser to the Iron Throne. It's not typically something that just anyone can do. It's also one of only two positions in the Brotherhood that require a ratification process by the Dark Council. The other position is Grand Master. So.... if you're just asking me to be funny, the answer is 'probably not'. If you're serious about it, and are qualified, you've probably already asked me in a more professional manner and the answer is 'Depends on if they vote on you.'

Andrej asks "When did the fiction updates become a standard in a report, and do you have to have them in a report even as a lower ranked leader?"

I'm not sure when it became the norm, to be honest. I wouldn't call it a requirement, though. However, it helps serve as a medium to do character development or plot advancement. If your Quaestor or Consul wants them, and you don't like doing them, or aren't very good at it, I am sure that they can help you find someone willing or more capable to help bail you out there.

Smoke (Ma'ar) asks "how will TOR be utilized in the future on Vendettas and gaming overall..since the normal run of the mill games are like...ummm a dying breed?"

This is really more of a question for Fremoc, but the old games will probably still have a bit of a home. MMOs aren't for everyone, no matter how cool they become...and MP games will always be a part of what we do here. Just as SWG didn't cripple our gaming, neither will TOR, even though the games are admittedly classes apart. That said, I imagine that there could be duels in TOR akin to MP matches done in other games, etc.

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And that's about all i have tonight. If you need anything, shoot me an email, look me up on TOR or PM me on IRC.

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