Hello House Ventress and welcome to my 10th Quaestor report! Things have been starting to pick up after the New Years lull so there is plenty to talk about this month.

Table of Contents

1. News
   1.1 Dark Brotherhood
   1.2 House Ventress
   1.3 Clan Plagueis
   
2. Competitions
   
3. Activity Report
   
4. Final Thoughts

News

DB News

We'll start with the big boss man himself, Evant. He announced applications for a couple of positions through the month. First was Arcona Consul with Qyreia Arronen later being appointed. Congratulations Qyreia! And with Drac stepping down as Fist, he is seeking applicants to fill that position. Applications are still open for a couple more days, so you should apply if it is something that you may be interested in. Drac was also honoured with a promotion to Master for his many years of dedicated service to the DB. And finally from the office of the GM was an April Fools joke that I found pretty amusing. If you haven't seen it yet, you should check it out.

In brief MAA news, the bear fled for a week but he is already back, hopefully well rested.

Code god James announced the retirement of the Discourse Forums. Definitely a good move as they were barely used and would have been confusing to new members who expected that forums would be more utilised when that just isn't how we work. Just as an aside, I know James can fly under the radar for many folks, but wow does he provide so much value to the DB. His contributions can never be underestimated and we are so lucky to have him. Thanks for all that you do, James!

Rian released another Herald report outlining some changes to meme competitions. Essentially, they are no longer classified as ghraphics competitions and no longer award Clusters of Graphite. I personally didn't love the decision, but it is difficult to deny that it was made for a valid reason. Things had gotten out of control and something needed to be done about it.

Idris is next with a couple of updates. First is a report with some changes to Poetry competitions. They are now classed as regular competitions and no longer award Clusters of Ice. It is fair enough as many poetry submissions could be measured in the tens of words or less meaning you would need dozens or entries just to earn 1 Cluster of Ice. And finally, he released Chapter 2 of the Shadows Unveiled story.

As alluded to earlier, Drac announced that he was stepping down as Fist due to upcoming work commitments. His contribution over the past few months truly has been immeasurable with the gaming changes he has implemented. He really earned that promotion to Master.

It was a busy month in the Justicar's office with three pieces of news. First was a Covenant Amendment covering the use of AI based tools for writing. Clearly a good change as these tools get better and better. Next was another PulseFeed News Aggregator and finally another Covenant Amendment changing the entire covenant to use gender neutral wording.

And finally, Anubis announced he was taking applications for a new Magistrate. He announced on Discord just a few hours ago that Korvis has been appointed to fill this position. Congrats Korvis!

House Ventress News

Without a doubt, the biggest news in the clan this month was Ronovi Tavisaen's promotion to Adept! Thoroughly deserved and a long time coming. Just further evidence that the glass ceiling for Elder promotions is well and truly gone. Congratulations Ronni!

And in another awesome piece of news, Tahiri was awarded a Sapphire Blade! Tahiri has been a standout performer for Plagueis for a long time, and this was a thoroughly deserved sacramental. It was also the first I was able to write the recommendation for which was a thrill. Being able to recommend deserving people for awards and promotions is definitely the best part of being QUA.

Clan Plagueis News

I started a new container competition two weeks ago that runs until this weekend. The The Great Aliso Spring Clean is just something quick and easy to get us back into the groove again as we begin to ramp up for this year's Vendetta. There are two puzzles, two flash games, one fiction and one cluster race competition and lots of Crescents up for grabs.

Khryso released his first Tyranus QUA report this month. Special mention must go to new member Nora Olen who has absolutely ripped through the Novitiate and Journeyman ranks and hit Knight at the fastest possible time permitted under the current rules. And Nora is already giving back to the DB by being named as the new M:FIST. Amazing work Nora and keep it up!

Competitions

Here are a selection of currently running competitions that are either quick and easy to participate in or are especially interesting.

• The Great Aliso Spring Clean
• The Minor Leagues
• Uncle A-Aru's Big Load of Puzzles
• A Flash In the Pan II
• Hey, Do You Want To Do a Sporcle?

Activity Report

Adept Ronovi Tavisaen

• Promoted to Adept!

Reaver Mauro Wynter

• 15x Cluster of Graphite

Warlord Tahiri Thorn Morte Tarentae

• Awarded a Sapphire Blade!
• 1x Crescent with Diamond Star
• 3x Crescent with Amethyst Star
• 1x Crescent with Sapphire Star
• 2x Crescent with Emerald Star
• 2x Crescent with Topaz Star
• 2x Crescent with Quartz Star
• 119x Cluster of Earth
• 6x Cluster of Graphite

Battlelord Aleister Mavros

• 2x Crescent with Emerald Star
• 1x Cluster of Earth

Battlemaster Qormus Aquila

• 6x Crescent with Diamond Star
• 2x Crescent with Amethyst Star
• 2x Crescent with Sapphire Star
• 1x Crescent with Topaz Star
• 1x Crescent with Quartz Star
• 1x Cluster of Ice
• 9x Cluster of Graphite

Knight Livia Mariquita Daffel

• 1x Crescent with Diamond Star
• 1x Crescent with Amethyst Star

Neophyte Vishi

• 108x Cluster of Earth

Final Thoughts

I am really pleased to see the activity numbers for the last month. This was probably our best month since last year's Pro Bowl. Keep it up!

I am glad that the New Years hangover is finally over. I haven't heard anything myself yet, but I am sure the next Vendetta is quite advanced in the planning. Hopefully we'll get some news soon. As usual, if I can help you with anything, please don't hesitate to contact me via email or Discord. Until next month Ventress!

Signed,
Battlemaster Qormus Aquila
Left Hand of Dread