Let me tell you what I wish I'd known

When I was young and dreamed of glory...

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Click to expand

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Blood Red Summer:

Office of the High Councilor,
Jedi Praxeum, Kiast
Kiast System, Nilgaard Sector
42 ABY

Holofeeds scraped from Quermia, encoded, and zipped through SeNet backchannels had reached the High Councilor of the Acolytes of Urr. The information war had begun, the Vauzem Separatists, a phrase the half-Arkanian never believed he'd regard outside of an instructional text again, had begun to paint the Odanites as vultures and warmongers. Their arrival was decried as profiteering on the 'non-existent' conflict, a lie which they had supposedly stoked to emplace themselves and spread the influence of Empress Kaltani and the Vatali Empire, just as they had supposedly usurped Kiast from its rightful rulers. The holos shown several on-the-ground conflicts, including Artemis Werd'la's failed assault of a diplomat supposedly carrying vital documents to secure relations between the Vauzem and Quermian powers, Jedi supposedly storming the spaceport in an effort to assault a civilian ship, before being fired upon by Vauzem forces, and O.U.S.C. forces attacking 'Supply Depots' in the Eastern Jungles of Quermia. The High Councilor watched the feed, a second time, inspecting each frame as his mood soured.

Artemis' involvement was detailed in a report from Governor Tierra Suha'sen, it was a mishap, the Vauzem diplomats had been obfuscating information throughout proceedings, and information about major location failures had been hidden from them, Artemis was dispatched to recover that information and was intercepted before contact could be made and they were fired upon. The so-called 'assault' was a Jedi Knight and Master attempting to lead a gaggle of Padawan through the city to 'The Trenzalore', before being fired upon, leading to one Padawan's death, left on-screen for all the world to see. The final lie they told in their broadcast was about the supply depots, they were armament facilities, swiping to another file on his dataslate, the High Councilor reviewed the data. CIS Manufactories, production facilities for B1 and B2 Battle Droids, as well as various blasters and repulsor-tanks. The only thing the Vauzem were supplying on Quermia was war.

Brushing silver-white hair back from his face, Masahiro groaned and leaned back into the synth-leather and plasteel frame of his chair.

"This was meant to be a diplomatic mission. I'm glad Mihoshi ignored my council and deployed the Armed Forces to aid the Quermians, but— These developments are worrisome." Worry washed over him as he turned to look out over the Praxeum grounds, the window catching the sunset glare as he approached.

"High Councilor, there's a report from the Undelm Domain."

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Estate of Duke Evran Anasaye
Undelm Domain, Kiast
Kiast System, Nilgaard Sector
42 ABY

Empress Kaltani Anasaye hadn't personally seen the Undelm Domain in years, not since the aftermath of Operation: Vanguard, every brief glimpse of the domain she'd seen since then had been from orbital footage as she observed during briefings and cabinet meetings, but this morning alone she had walked the halls of three of Essadan's sister cities. The Royal Guardsman flanking her moved into position and spilled into the Duke's suite ahead of her, a flood of midnight, teal, and golden armor. Cold, calculating eyes met, narrowed, and regarded one another as the Duke motioned to a chair and Kaltani, wordlessly accepted his offer.

"Cousin, you've come a far way from Voraskel, just to speak with me, in rather unwelcoming territory. I would have gladly accepted an offer to come to the palace and meet with Your Highness. I know you're concerned about the wayward children who've turned their back on Kiast and flown to..." The elder Sephi sighed and picked up a drink, taking a drink of twice-purified water. "Flown off to heavens know wh—"

"Quermia, Evran. They didn't just fly off to Quermia, either, they've launched a full-scale invasion against a people who pose little threat and have almost no political or material aid to give them. They've taken vessels left under your care and launched under either your or Aleine's jurisdiction, to wage war, and paint Vauzem's folly as a galactic contrivance." Kaltani cut the man off, as one of her guards laid a dataslate with the captured footage from the Quermian Conflict on the Duke's desk.

"Well, yes, but you can't expect me to monitor all—" The Duke attempted.

"Before you begin your protestations, claiming your lack of involvement, echoing their promises not to use their ill-gotten gains to reignite conflict, or how you or Aleine were, once again, swindled, let me cut to the quick. Platitudes do not serve us well. You've witnessed our retribution, yet, what if I offered mercy?" Kaltani found her footing, taking charge of the conversation as she began to prowl around the suite, as Duke Evran's single retainer retreated. "How many have died since Undelm's self-imposed exile? Thousands? Millions? As I understand it, ionized Tibanna gas has an excruciating effect on the lungs and heart, and plowing several giant cities through lower gas clouds, relying on repulsorlifts, and expecting failing shields to keep the atmosphere out can't be good for the citizenry, my citizenry, regardless of how their Governors may posture."

A gentle hand descended on the Duke's shoulder.

"I'm tired of keeping one eye open, waiting for one of you to stab me in the back, so, I'll give you the benefit of seeing the blade coming. Agree to denounce the errant children, publicly, and the Jedi Spies and our Military Intelligence Agencies will deploy your message across the front. Side with them and..." Kaltani paused and turned to face the window, her hand withdrawing from her cousin's shoulder as she shooed his retainer away.

"Vauzem had more love for his ambitions than he had for his own brother, enough so that he easily killed Essadan for the throne. I have more love for the citizenry, even the misled, than I have for any Nobles who have turned their backs on the Empire and who allow their charges to suffer for personal gain." The Empress mused as her eyes trailed the two floating cities in the near distance as they began to trail upwards.

The Duke turned to face his cousin, a look of indignant anger across his features.

"If I refuse you, you'll what? Murder me in my city, surrounded by my guards, and those who believe your claim to the throne was fal—" Narrow eyes turned from the window as the morning sun gleaned across the golden accents of Empress Kaltani's crown and the trim of her royal garment.

He saw it, all too late, this Kaltani was not the same Kaltani he had given gifts to as a child and teased for being too soft, unlikely to rule, no true heir to the throne. She was a monster, vicious, and protective. Wide eyes watched as the two cities drifted upwards above the gas clouds. She had done it, at least twice, and she would do it again. The question was, just how far was she willing to go?

"I was wrong, Kal'i, the crown is yours, just as much as the blood on your hands."

Want It All Back:

War wages on, with the Quermian Front devolving into two fronts as the Jedi and O.U.S.C. Intelligence attempt to win the hearts and minds of the Quermian people whose cry for help they responded to, they've now been painted as the enemy by a broad misinformation campaign. The Vauzem Dominion forces on Quermia aim to destroy the reputation of the Vatali Empire and their Odanite cohorts, pining that their own exile from Kiast is the result of the Jedi abetting a tyrant's takeover of their homeworld, then chasing down their remnants. Meanwhile the O.U.S.C. Armed Forces and Jedi Guardian Corps carve their way through the dense jungles on the Eastern Front, dismantling the Vauzem's newest ally, reactivated B1 and B2-series Battle Droids provided by once-scuttled CIS Manufactories.

The Quermian people, by and large, are unsure where to stand in this conflict. While their own government sought the assistance of the Jedi, they did so in secrecy, attempting to undermine the growing influence and violent acts that followed the Vauzem as they arrived in the major cities surrounding the planet's capital. The average citizens suddenly caught in the conflict as the Vauzem and Odanite forces took to the Eastern Front were caught unaware and with no clear signal of who was friend or foe, with both sides seemingly providing succor.

Tensions have grown high at the O.U.S.C. Army's Camp Tython, the Eastern Shield Facility, where civilian aid efforts were underway, as Vauzem forces began bombardment outside of the facility shortly before propaganda footage of Artemis Werd'la attacking a diplomat was aired, and attempted to lay the blame for the conflict at the hands of the Jedi.

House of the Rising Sun:

The conflict with the Vauzem Dominion survived their pacification in 38 ABY, and today it has made its way home. In years prior, the Vauzem Dominion was only known to a handful of resourceful outsiders, and few who knew of their actions had the forethought or knowledge of their internal workings to utilize them to this day, further proving their authenticity as a player in the current conflict. Where others saw this as an exterior issue to solve, Empress Kaltani Anasaye has taken a straightforward route, courting and making demands of the Vauzem who remained on Kiast, despite counseling from her counterparts and the Noble Houses who would rather leave the errant Vauzem to linger and wane.

Dear Kaltani, Count Me In:

As with any good event, the narrative starts and ends with you. The Conflict on Quermia, the center point of The Western Marches is entirely driven and affected by what the members of Odan-Urr have put back into the competitions. From the artwork submissions, fiction, and the continuing roleplay series we've been a part of. Every piece, every twist in the strand, crafts the tapestry and final design of this great project. Our Chapter-by-Chapter Premise should have plenty of easy enough jumping points for anyone to discuss to help catch anyone up to speed. Another boon of the way our current Campaign system is established is that it allows us to focus on some of our separate narrative factions, using them together against a common enemy. If you need any assistance getting into the story, or if you'd like to know more, don't hesitate, just ask Tisto, Jack, or me. This has been a passion project and we'd love to help you all get involved!

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Now, about what I said concerning, how everyone's actions, or rather relating to how much effort Odan-Urr puts in as a whole will affect our inroads into the Conflict on Quermia. We monitor various metrics, gather them throughout the phases, and use them to determine how our various factions sprawl out and gain territory. And sometimes, this can result in a negative net if there just isn't enough activity.

These metrics include:

• The number of Members Participating in competitions,
  
• Aggregate number of Clusters (gaming),
  
• Total words submitted (fiction and roleplay),
  
• Average Completion times (puzzles)
  

Each Competition type will spread the influence of the relative faction as indicated:

• Fiction to the North
  
• Gaming to the West
  
• Puzzles to the East
  
• Art to the South
  
• Roleplay/Uncategorized Clockwise around influence zone

Good Feeling:

Pro Bowl has come to an end, we've kicked the teeth of the Children of Mortis in, once again, and I've got some good numbers. Looking at the Year-over-Year comparisons, we've done good, Odan-Urr, especially considering we had a lot going on, between members being sick, over-worked, or unavailable throughout the Pro Bowl period. We nearly tripled our entrants into Pro Bowl from last year and doubled our overall entries. Not only that, we brought home 4 Novae (Sorry Zuza, I get to claim Sivall's Bronze Nova since she was here, redecorating Tythas City when grading was done, love you! <3), with Edgar and Tierra (Vyr) both bringing home a Gold Each, and Vyr nabbing a Silver for good measure, as well as Sivall's Bronze. Coupled with our top-tier awards we took home a swathe of Crescents and you've all definitely made me proud, but more than that, I hope you all had fun! (Placements and overall amount of entries into Pro Bowl were used to calculate your guys' Western March scores this month, too, so don't feel bad if you hyperfocused Button all month or chased DB-Wide comps instead of Clan-level, I expected it.)

Some Light Housework:

With Pro Bowl reaching its conclusion, Houses Sunrider and Hoth have launched their reports and their respective competition series', defining the nature of their environments, and their cultures, establishing how relaxed our House vs House competition is. Reviewing earlier discussions, and publicizing just a little, "Noble Houses of the Vatali" (Sunrider v Hoth) is entirely about how active the House Members are, with the Quaestors providing roughly equivalent numbers of competitions aimed at the interests of their houses as a baseline and coaxing them to take part in outside competitions as well for further rewards. The narrative design behind the overarching competition revolves around Sunrider and Hoth both being Odan-Urr's representative Houses of Nobility in the Vatali Empire, our Host in the Kiast System, and vying for political favor and gain, while also acting to serve their differences in personal views, within and outside of Odan-Urr's power structure.

The more you do, the more your House Earns, and the more bonuses the winning house gets at the end of the month, from additional credits, building permits, military expenditures, etc.

Scimitar of Lord Hoth:

The Competition was slower this month, points-wise, with less varied competition types, a lot of you had a lot of real-world issues going on through September, which is understandable. Still, we managed 26 people participating in at least one competition, activity, or event, and 18 of you took part in regular activities throughout the month. Congratulations to Aryn "Jade" Erinos-Magnuri (Celevon) for taking first in September's race for the Scimitar. We're rounding into a tight competition for the Scimitar as we near year's end, I look forward to finding out who will carry the blade next year.

Keep Your Head Up:

Eventually, you'll all get sick of me cheerleading, but I'm only telling you how I earnestly feel. The direction we've carried on, the compiling storyline, seeing the feedback and interest I get from you, whether in open chat or DMs about where we're going, and how you feel that I've been leading us in a good direct, I couldn't do any of this without you. Your feedback and seeing your interest in the messages I get from you and the activities we build for you shows me, and the rest of the Summit, just how much our current work is succeeding or where we need to look at/for change. There are things in the current Campaign going forward I'm definitely going to adjust, and I've been making gradual changes from the beginning to now, from pacing, competition density, to competition styling. If you ever have any comments, questions, or even if you just want to talk about the current state of Odan-Urr and where you see it going, feel free to drop me a line in Discord or via email, I'm available most days and love the open discussion about where we're going!

For now, though, we focus on those of you, who have earned accolades in September!

• Edgar Drachen nabbed a Gold Nova for giving Tisto a well-deserved Roast.
• Tierra Suha'sen earned themselves a Gold Nova for smashing buttons.
• Tierra Suha'sen also nabbed a Silver Nova for mapping out Jedha.
• Sivall Tenbriss Ya-ir Zoria earned a Bronze Nova for checks notes roasting their former CON.
• Nikora Rhan got another Dark Side Scroll for being Wikipedian of the Month.
• Vyrese Palestar, got their first Steel Cross and promoted to Padawan.
• Dartanis Savir, Welcome to Odan-Urr!
• Syrena Valkar, Welcome to Odan-Urr!