Good evening, everyone. Below is the Quaestor report, including a bit of fiction to lead you into a house competition.

Vendetta Interlude, pt. 1

Anshar bit his lower lip as Tarentum's forces fought a rather one sided, tactical withdrawal. They simply were being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the force they faced. And while there had been promised assistance coming from the Dark Council, nothing yet had shown up. Oberst stood grimly next to Anshar, his face hiding the seething anger. The military master's mind was going full speed, working intricate plans into something more feasible, something that could give them a breakout.

"Sir, the Cocytus reports both the captain and XO are dead," shouted an unknown tech. Comm officer has taken command."

"That is a problem," commented Oberst, to Anshar. "Sadhar has promise, but he is no where near ready to command a ship. He'll have trouble carrying out my instructions to get us out of this mess."

"I'll go," said Hades (formerly Apollo), coming up to Oberst. "With you and Scion, the MK will be fine."Oberst did not reply to Hades directly.

"CAG, status of K-wing rearming?" asked Oberst.

"Ready to launch in two minutes," came the reply.

"Hades, get to one of those K-wings and have them transport you over," said Oberst. Hades did not wait for a reply, but instead sprinted towards the hanger as Oberst continuted his orders: "CAG, prepare to launch a decoy shuttle." Anshar stood back and let the Marshal do his thing; his own experience commanding starships paled in comparison to Oberst's, and through thick and thin, Anshar had learned to trust the Marshal's judgment.

"Sir, K-wings launching, along with decoy," said the CAG. The CAG stepped back, took a breath, and couldn't hold back the slight grin. "Sir, I think Captain Hades set a record for reaching the hanger."

"We'll reward his physical prowess later," said Oberst, coolly. However, in the middle of a battle, even Oberst must have found some humor in the comment, for he had let the comment go without barking something back. A little bit of comic relief was good every now and then.

End part 1

Vendetta Results

Alright everyone, so we're done with the three weeks of Horizons, and, while we're waiting for all the results to come out, I would like to take a moment and thank those that did participate. While participation was a bit on the low side, with veterans doing much of it, it is higher than many thought we would have, and I think we will survive. You have given me some ammunition, though I hope not to need it. We do have to deal with the upcoming clan/house feuds, but with the track we are on right now, I'm more confident than I have been that we'll be just fine.

While we have not had many people place in the various events (at least of those that have been released), we aren't totally in the dark.
The following members placed in an event:

1. Wiki Event- Anshar and Jason were on the 2nd place team

   1. 2nd Week Co-op Fiction- Oberst placed 3rd
      

2. Week 2 ID Event- Anshar placed 3rd

3. Week 1 Fiction- Oberst placed 5th

I hope we will see some more placings for week three, and some of the vendetta long events. I'm still getting ACC results, so I know the judges are working to get everything graded.

Awards and Promotions

Oberst garnered almost 90 Clusters of Fire, plus a Pendent of Blood by playing TOR. His Pendent of Blood was for killing the Terror from Beyond and achieving a Guild First!

Anyone who placed 1st-3rd in a vendetta event should receive a novae, though they have not yet finished processing all awards. You may have seen that some of the folks in Arcona already got theirs for week 1 events.

No promotions to report, yet, but we have a few people who are very close (and one promotion request that has been submitted and is awaiting approval). Journeymen, don't forget that the promotion requirements can be found : here

New Arrivals

I would like to welcome Kalmah back to House Tarentum. He previously went under the names Nichos Rhade and Chaaron Mar, but got taken away in real life for a bit. He's back now, and with the energy he has already displayed, I would have loved to have gotten him in before the vendetta started. But, we'll take him.

Also, brand new to the house is Izzaldinkota. Welcome to him! We're glad to have you here.

Competitions

We have two new house events for everyone. They are meant to be short and fun, so have at them:

First up, is the Horizons Musical Montage

Music has a way of stirring emotion. When you reflect on the events that took place during the Vendetta known as Horizons, what emotions stir with in you, and what song(s) best suits those?

Participants may submit any number of songs to the Aedile ([Log in to view e-mail addresses]) and the Tarentum Activity Tracker ([Log in to view e-mail addresses]). Please include song name, artist, album, lyrics and, if possible, an MP3 or similar audio file.

By the way, Jason got an email from one member who asked if you could submit a link to a YouTube video with the song. The answer was yes. (see next section for more about this).

Second competition is Bumpy Ride.

Hades (formerly Apollo) is en route to the Cocytus to take command of the vessel. In any format you desire, detail the events of his journey. It can be fiction, poetry/song (drunken bar song), graphics, screenshots from a game, etc.

If you write a fiction entry, minimum of 600 words. Review the Quaestor's report for the fiction that led up to this. Email all submissions to [Log in to view e-mail addresses] and [Log in to view e-mail addresses]

Communications

I will admit that one thing that has really gone downhill is communication within the house. More to the point, the friendly communication on IRC, the message boards, and even over the email. For example, when Jason received the question about his competition, the question was sent only to him and myself. It could have, and should have, been sent to the entire mailing list. Others may have the same question.

So, I want to encourage everyone to get on IRC, to check out the message boards, and to pay attention to the email threads. I'll admit that I'm not the best with IRC- my schedule at work is rather erratic, so I can never be on at the same time in any given day. And that is even before my family and their needs and wants. But, I will try. And if you have never used the DB java applet for IRC, it works pretty well, I must say.

Final Thoughts

At least for now...

I am confident in the direction the house is going. I am confident in you guys. Ok, sure, we didn't sweep the vendetta or anything, but when you figure that a lot of people had low expectations for us, to the point where we might even be closed down, I think we have proved them wrong. Jason and I have a lot planned for the house- big things and small things.

Most importantly, though, is that we want you to get more involved. If you don't like something, let us know. If you do like it, let us know. And while participation can tell us what you like, we would also like to hear it from you.

Thanks for your time, and I look very forward to hearing from you and, as they say, seeing you on the battlefield.

~Anshar

(ps- yes, I know my coding sucks...it has been too long ;P)