ISD Eye of The Abyss II - Arcona Commandship

[The quiet before the storm...]

Marick stared out the viewport at the planet Kalsunor. It wouldn't be long now.

Everything hinged on the next few hours. There were no second chances here; victory was the only option.

And Vengeance... Marick thought as he turned his head to regard his Proconsul.

Wuntila Arconae stared out the viewport, his eyes focused. His outward calm matched Marick's, but beneath its veil a cesspool of emotions coalesced and radiated outwards like fumes from an oven. Despite the obvious tie to the Dark Side of the Force, there was something pure to the Dragon of Selen's aura. It was not the rage of someone blindly charging with abandon. It was controlled and contained to a cage to spring free only once the Dragon chose to let it.

"You ready?" Marick asked calmly.

Wuntila simply nodded as his fist tightened into a ball, making the armored plate of his gauntlets crunch.

Marick placed a hand on his Proconsul's shoulder, patting the Arcona emblem etched into the pauldron. With a rare smile, he turned his attention back to the viewport and Kalsunor...

The Battle for Kalsunor Begins

And so it begins. This is what many of have you been waiting for all year. This is our chance to level the playing field. If we can claim Kalsunor for Arcona, we tie Plagueis in the race for First Place in the Dark Crusade.

Due to the impact the fate of this round can carry, I have created a video for all of you

Hopefully that video gets you pumped up as I do! I want to take a moment though and mention that this round we are also facing off against House Tarentum. For those new to Arcona, I say this because while we are competing alongside and against them, Tarentum is a long standing friend and ally to the Shadow Clan. As such, I encourage you treat their members with extra respect and kindness as you show them why Arcona is the First Clan of the Brotherhood ;). Healthy competition is good for the heart.

(Come at me, Ernordeth ;D)

However, let me remind everyone here and now that this is no light task we face before us. If there is one thing we have learned as a team, it's never to sleep on your opponents. We underestimated Tal on Krayiss II, and paid the price. Arcona remembers, however, and Arcona never forgets.

To recap:

• Plagueis has Four Wins
• Arcona has Three Wins
• Taldryan has Two Wins

If we win Kalsunor, we will tie Plagueis with 4 planets each. Even if Taldryan finds a way to beat House Odan-Urr, they will still sit 1 planet behind each of us.

This means we need to give Kalsunor everything we have. Leave nothing on the table and give it everything you have. That is all I ask. And in return, I and the rest of the Special Forces Team will do ours. How are we going to do that exactly? Well, I'm glad you asked...

Special Forces, Main Forces

As you are aware from reading my last report, because we did not hit our 1.5 ratio on Svolten, Arcona only gets 8 Special Forces members for Kalsunor. With this in mind, Wuntila and I selected the Special Forces team based off what knowledge we had going into the deadline for the decision (shortly after I had made my last report) as well as looking at the leaderboard, participation chart, and other factors that we used in determining who best to represent Arcona.

Your Special Forces consist of:

• Marick Arconae
• Wuntila Arconae
• Troutrooper
• Legorii Entar
• Atyiru Araave
• S'nar Seshai
• Invictus
• Socorra Erinos

You know all of these names by now as leaders and former leaders in Arcona. On top of that, they have each demonstrated the necessary skill sets we anticipated for this round of the Crusade. If you have any other questions regarding Special Forces selection, please let me know. You know where to find me.

In order to win Kalsunor, the Special Forces team needs to score more points than both Plagueis and Tarentum. Each Novae has a point value of 15, 10, 5 descending from Gold to Bronze.

For the Main Forces, your goal is to crush the 1.5 ratio (total entries of the clan, divided by our roster size). In fighting for this, Arcona gains multiple advantages.

• 1.) We get an extra Special Forces slot for the next round. This is huge because it gives us an extra chance at beating the odds whether they are in our favor or against.
• 2.) The higher our ratio score is, the more Fleet Points we get! That means more ships (pew-pew!) and more troops!
• 3.) Muz and Raken have hinted at incentives for Clan-specific awards such as robes. These always end up being badass, and if you check my dossier you can see the Invicta robes we got for winning GJWX :).

In an attempt to guide you through this round, we have again selected Field Generals to act as your go-to's for help and information. Your FG's this round are as follows:

• Montresor "Do Work Son" Monterson
• Cethgus Arconae
• Teroch Arconae
• Nikola Valtaiere
• Nadrin Arconae
• Sanguinius Entar
• Etah + Loki d'Tana

Each of these members has demonstrated their dedication to Arcona with near-perfect participation numbers over the entire Dark Crusade. They are also leaders or former leaders and have the experience and wisdom to help answer any and all questions you might have. Take advantage of their wisdom.

With that said, I'd like to highlight how important the Main Forces will be this round. If we are successful here on Kalsunor, we will need to continue to win when Phase 3 starts. I've been told there will be a break at the end of this round, so use that as a guiding light. I know you are all tired, and I know it's been a very, very long year. Run towards that light at full speed, no regrets. Together we will ride this out and continue on our path of dominance.

"Strategery"

As it stands, we have 4 events this chapter. You can find the events for Kalsunor and all nessary intel on the planet right here.

• Fiction
• Multi-Media
• Gaming
• Battle Plan

I will be sending out an internal e-mail to the Clan bluntly dubbed "Kalsunor Event Strategy Guide". (Hush, I'm going on 3 hours of sleep right now...)

For now, here is what I can share to help illuminate the nature of the events.

Fiction is self explanatory, and you should all know how these work. If not, do not be afraid to ask one of your fellow members or Summit members.

Multi-Media is arguably my favorite event in the club. The potential for creative freedom is immense. As the name implies, multi-media is any combination of two or more forms of media. Media is a broad term to cover anything you create visually; writing, graphics, animation, audio, video, sculptures or anything else your imagination can come up with. This can be anything as simple as taking a picture you like from google and writing a poem or short story to go along with it, to recording yourself singing a song, or making a music video. The strategy guide will include tips for this.

Gaming is unique this round. In order to get participation, ALL you have to do is earn 1 Cluster of Fire from playing any DB approved platform. Even for you non gamers, this is probably the best chance you're going to see. It's never too late to try it out. If you need help, talk with your Generals.

For the Special Forces, we will be focused on the Alien Swarm Platform.

Battle Plan is going to intimidate a few of you from the onset. There are a lot of acronyms and terminology that can be a bit confusing, but at its core, Battle Plans are one of the more fun and unique events we have in the Brotherhood. In the Strategy Guide, I will break down the language of the BP prompt, and offer some alternative examples of how you can go about making your own.

The key to this is that you can form teams of 3-5 members. Andrelious has made a form that will help you find a team if you are looking for people to join with. You can find it here

The Arcona Order of Battle Wikipedia will be updated sometime tomorrow with the most up-to-date MTOE of Arcona's forces. For now, use what you see there to formulate your base strategies. Use this time to find our teams and brainstorm. The updated MTOE with accompany the guide, as I'd rather keep it for Arcona internal use ;).

Expect the Guide in your Inboxes sometime tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.

Recognition

I'd like to take a moment to throw a few shout outs since my last report.

• Firstly, Sang was awarded a Sapphire Blade for his long-term dedication to the Clan.

• We've also seen Riverche and Azasell reach Knighthood! That brings us to 14 Dark Jedi Knights in one year (BOOM! - Monty)

• Izo Kraydi has been busy, jumping from Initiate to Apprentice to Novice in the blink of an eye! Likewise, Zenon was promoted from Novice to Apprentice and then to Protector! Not to be outdone by his fellow Journeyman, Rorgon Skar was promoted to Protector as well!

Arcona Invicta

TL;DR

• P2C2 Has Begun
• Wally made an awesome motivational video that you've already watched (at least) twice.
• Planet Kalsonur; Fight. Arcona. Win.
• Special Forces, Main Forces Generals listed
• Dark Crusade: Explained
• Strategy Guide Coming Tomorrow
• Promotions, Awards, and Bears, OH MY
• Always Do Work Son

In Closing

Thank you guys for bearing with me in my transition into Consul. It is an honor and a privilege to lead you guys. Let's go kick some ass.

In Darkness,

-W