Greetings and salutations my fellow Sadowans,

Enough is enough! The nefarious Dominion has cost us dearly and it is time that stops. Operation Cobalt has launched. It’s aim? To gather intelligence, recuperate our strength and prepare for the upcoming war.

Now this isn’t your run-of-the-mill competition. Your efforts in this competition series is crucial as you’ll help shape what happens next. So do not procrastinate and submit your entries to the competitions. You have until next Sunday. Go go go!

There are several open positions with Naga Sadow and the Brotherhood at large. If you want to get your name out there, or if you want to make a difference, apply for these positions!

• Magistrate to the Herald (This ends today!)
  
• Praetor to the Headmaster and Magistrate to the Headmaster (Open until the 23rd of January)
  
• Quaestor to House Shar Dakhan (Open until the 23rd of January as well)

Master-Student Program

As always, I can’t stress enough that our Master-Student Program is incredibly important, as it can help you grow and find your place here with us. It is designed to coach the new, and to test the veterans. So sign up, whether you’re an eager Student or a willing Master. The experience will enrich the both of you with new friendships!.

Here is the official form for the Master-Student Program to show your interest as a master, or as a student.

Click me, for I am important and flashy and stuff... Okay, I'm important for setting up pairings!

Notable Accomplishments

Here is the progress of the Journeymen so far this month:

Sangaas

• Joined the Brotherhood (welcome!)
  

Raptor

• Joined the Brotherhood (welcome!)
  

Talor-Kai

• Joined the Brotherhood (welcome!)
  

Thalnos

• Joined the Brotherhood (welcome!)
  

Lilith Stormwind

• Joined the Brotherhood (welcome!)
  
• Completed 19 exams!
  
• Earned degree: Dark Pundit - Essentials
  
• Promoted to Proselyte! (Congrats)
  

Michael Bourne

• Joined the Brotherhood (Welcome)
  
• Completed 9 exams!
  
• Earned degree: Dark Pundit - Essentials
  
• Promoted to Proselyte! (Congrats)
  

Marcus Nye

• Returned from the Rogues (Welcome back!)
  

Janos Stormwind

• Joined the Brotherhood (Welcome)
  
• Completed 22 exams!
  
• Earned degree: Dark Pundit - Essentials
  
• Earned degree: Dark Pundit - Vendetta
  
• Promoted to Neophyte! (Congrats)
  

Kalu Burgoo

• Earned 19 Clusters of Earth!
  
• Completed 1 exam!
  

Leeadra Halcyon

• Awarded 1 Crescent with Amethyst Star
  
• Awarded 27 Clusters of Fire
  
• Awarded 1 Cluster of Ice
  
• Promoted to Acolyte! (Congrats)
  

Malathion

• Returned from the Rogues. (Welcome back!)
  

Quo-Wing-Tzun

• Completed 28 exams!
  
• Earned degree: Dark Maven - Philosophy
  
• Earned degree: Dark Maven - Lore
  
• Earned degree: Dark Maven - Writing
  
• Earned degree: Dark Maven - Galactic History
  
• Earned degree: Dark Savant - History and Lore
  
• Earned degree: Dark Savent - Writing and Philosophy
  
• Promoted to Hunter! (Congrats)
  

Mactire Chemel

• Awarded 5 Pendants of Blood
  

As before: If you’re not listed, it didn’t mean you didn’t do anything, it just means I couldn’t find a record of you doing it. Let me know if this is the case!

Special Recognition

This month was a hard choice as we have several fantastic new members, all of which are working hard, but in the end I have to choose someone. That someone is Quo-Wing-Tzun! Quo returned to us in December, and after a few weeks simply took off for the stars. Not only did he complete 26 exams, but earned himself a stack of degrees while he was at it. In addition to all that, Quo took advantage of our Master-Student Program, got promoted to Hunter (which means he’s one step away from his Knighting), and joined our chat channel, where he joins us in our discussions almost daily. Well done Quo! I’m looking forward to what else you’ll use your endless enthusiasm for, keep it up!

Ask da RollMastah

Sang asks: Could you give some insight into member retention and how NFU members bring a well needed second aspect to the clan?
Naga Sadow has always acted as a second family to me which is something that I, and the rest of the Summit, try to extend to all our members. It’s this feeling of belonging that I believe contributes in large parts to that familial feeling we have going here. Part of that same family are the NFU members. They’re the ones who see what we take for granted: The extraordinary feats of strength, of mental abilities, and accept that they cannot perform these things. Does that stop them? Of course not. They push on. Of our armed forces, they are the best that’s on offer and they pledge their services to the Clan and the Dark Council, just like we all did. They provide a unique view and skillset to the galaxy we populate.

Sang asks: Has Marcus recovered physically and mentally from the events of Awakenings yet?
Physically he has recovered as much as he could. It’s all left some scars, but how that will look will be a surprise, as I’m getting a commission done next week or so, that’ll reflect his new appearance. Mentally, well, he’s still suffering a hit to his reputation that doesn’t leave him unaffected. I mean, how would you feel if everyone thought you were a traitor? But he has started repressing that side of his psyche, turning him into a bit of a cocky jerk. That’s probably not a good thing, but he’ll have to deal with it somehow.

Sang asks: What advice do you have for veteran and newly knighted members looking to mentor journeymen to Knighthood?

• Sign up, obviously. Once you’ve done that:
• Show yourself. You aren’t helping anyone by sitting there and waiting for your student to come to you. Maybe they’re shy, maybe they think their question is silly. Reach out and touch them, guide them through the requirements with objectives that line up with what they like to do, and offer guidance on those subjects that seem to take longer. Maybe they’re struggling.
  
• Finally, for promotions, the site offers a great system where you can prepare your promotion recommendations in advance, without sending them in. If your student has completed his requirements before his time-in-rank is up, pre-write that recommendation. It shows me you are on top of things, and it gives both of us peace of mind that as soon as they hit that time required, you can hit send and they’ll get promoted as soon as possible.

Sang asks: Who is your favourite Entar?
This month? Kalon Tsucyra Entar! He had some amazing answers for his Mercenary exam and I love him for it.

Qyreia asks: Can I fire the LAZOR yet?
-Points at Ceth- Fire away!

Qyreia asks: Has there been a change or challenge to your duties since the Brotherhood has had time to alter its universe after The Force Awakens?
Not specifically. There’s a been an influx of members, which required me to step up my game a bit, but all in stride really :) The movie itself didn’t change a whole lot yet, though I’m slowly preparing for a few course rewrites on the CORE exams.

Sang asks: Who are you shipping from Episode 7?
I hate this new word, and I refuse to answer based on the grounds of hatred.

Conclusion

As always my door is open for anyone. If you have questions, whether about applying for a position, about running competitions, a promotion, an award, or anything at all, just come to me and we’ll figure it out.

Keep on being awesome, participate in clan-events and may the Force be with you!