This is as much an introduction as it is a call to arms. A plea for your assistance in bringing about a new Golden Age in Scholae Palatinae through the work of House Excidium. We have a hallowed tradition as our foundation. A legacy that is beyond a planetary system or a logo. Today, I will share my vision for what we - House Excidium - can become, how I plan to move us towards that horizon, and the secret to how we will do it.
Our greatest strength is you. Our foundation was laid by titans - nay, Gods! - whom sacrificed much to give us our opportunity. But it was your efforts that became the brick and mortar which this house was built with. Each of you has a part in our continued effort to build the strongest House in the Brotherhood. To continue the legacy that is Scholae Palatinae by digging in with both hands and showing your mettle - your grit, your resolve, your determination - to overcome the odds that are stacked against us. You can prove that a single individual can make a mark on this club. And you can prove that when enough people care - truly, deeply invest - and come together… that no one can stop them.
We are not destined to return to glory. We are fated to surpass it. To build our own Era. The time to act is now.
We are adopting the most simplistic of missions in House Excidium: Do what you find fun! I want the entirety of your focus to be on activities and competitions that will help you power up, gain energy, or make you excited to come back the next day and try something new. Your time is the most valuable resource in our club. And I want you to reinforce the time you spend here with positive activity. I desperately want you to avoid the things that drain your energy, bog you down, make you weary about being part of our House, or cause you to avoid fellow members out of shame or disappointment. Pursue that which charges you, avoid that which drains you.
Do not be mislead, though, by the simplicity of this message. There will never be justification for inactivity - to do nothing. When you are a member of a Battle Team or a House, you have sworn an oath to support your fellow members in that unit. And you must always support the Clan. This means you will find the competition, or activity, that you find most enjoyable and give it a chance. There will be times when the stars are aligned and you want to do all of the competitions or activities provided in a month. There may be times when you look at everything and respond with a simple “meh”. The trick is to find one or two things you can participate in every month. While the competitions may not be everything you want, it will help drive the unit’s participation, assist in upgrading the Crescent level for the competitions top placements, and give the event organizer a boost in confidence (that will very likely be returned when you run an event of your own).
Our fate will be determined by our members. I want each of you to be a leader. I will not require you to do the arduous tasks that sometimes bog down the experience, instead focusing on getting our community active, participating, and supporting one another. Different people will contribute at different levels, but rest assured that we need every one of you to drive content for the Battle Team, House, Clan and Brotherhood. This may mean you run the quick & easy competitions for a month, then change the next month to a more thought provoking House competition, before digging into a major project for the Clan or Brotherhood.
Join the fight today. Talk to your BTL about fun competitions you can run for your team. Talk to your QUA & AED about interesting competitions for the House and Clan. And always strive to build something special for the Brotherhood, sometimes a singular event, sometimes massive events. We want you to leave your mark on this place, because it is as much yours as it is ours.
I have a background in training people rooted in the method of mentor leadership. In short, my only job is to help you find the best version of yourself. Through effective mentoring, I can develop our talent into the leadership of tomorrow - strengthening both the mentee and our organization (Scholae Palatinae). That means I believe in a full roster of leaders, a cadre, to share the load in our House. The work we do - for this club - should not be done alone. It should not be done in a vacuum. It requires transparency, thoughtful discussion, and then - most important - follow through to completion.
When I was given the honor to serve as Quaestor, Xen permitted me a certain amount of latitude to run the House as I saw fit. He also gave me a mentee and subordinate leadership position back: Aedile. There was not a long winded discussion about the selection of our current Aedile, Alara Deathbane. It was the obvious choice and one that I wholly stand behind. We also have a fully rostered, and active, Battle Team lead by a very impressive leader, Shadow Nighthunter, committed to see her people reach their potential.
But we still needed more.
I have created an open discussion group of our members not committed to our current Battle Team, Tacitus Athanasius. We are aggressively pursuing opening a second Battle Team for the House. Our current team stands at 12 members. While I undoubtedly know Shadow would take on additional members, I have an obligation to maintain a leader:member ratio that is reasonable. So far, in discussion, we have tackled some fundamental truths about our previous House identity and how it will evolve in the aftermath of the attack on Judecca. I am excited to see the continued discussion, production of quality ideas, and an eventual new team on our roster.
We did not stop there.
I have appointed Rasilvenaira and Xan to activity specific peer leadership positions. Rasilvenaira provides an invaluable service at directing Fiction Activity for me. When we both returned to the active roster, we spent valuable time tearing apart the VOICE Office resources to fully understand the mechanics of what we were to accomplish. Her role is to provide quality, thought-provoking prompts for our writers, assist other writers in competition creation, and provide feedback on fiction related items. Xan works the opposite side of the coin. He provides direction and competition creation for our Gaming Community. Already, he has begun the endeavor of creating an April competition that will allow our gamers to experience the best of what that world can offer. He is a gamer himself, so he understands the necessity for balance between what each competition requires. He is committed to not making every gaming competition about who can farm the most Clusters. Lastly, both individuals are tasked with bi-monthly publication of available competitions in their domain. This gets information directly in front of our member’s eyes that they may not have seen in the hopes of generating additional submissions to competitions.
Still going.
Again, I believe in helping people find the best versions of themselves. The work we do is too important to entrust into one person alone. If that person falls, then we need to have the next individual ready to step into their shoes. To aid that process, we have appointed Kylex to two different mentorship positions: 1) to work side-by-side with Shadow to learn how a BT operates and should be ran 2) to watch and grow at Rasilvenaira’s side to see how quality competitions are created for Fiction Activities. In addition, we have appointed Derek to a similar role to watch, grow, and game with Xan. We very much want to cultivate his passion in gaming and bring that excitement to our own community in the coming months.
And we still need more.
If you are interested in taking on a larger role in the operation of our House, please contact me. I will do my best to ensure that you are given a task that is based on your strengths and comes from an activity that gives you energy. And while not every task, or job, is glamorous… it provides unique infrastructure to support the members of our House on their journeys to find the best in themselves. It is the best way to give back to others whom have supported your development and growth in this club.
There are some things that continually will be on our project board and some one-time projects that we will focus on. Ultimately, I wanted to quick-hit some of the things I would like to see, some things we are already working on, and create an open invitation to hear your ideas for our future, as well.
Social Calendar. I want to create a one-stop shop for our members to host activities (Gaming Nights, Cards Against Humanity, Google Hangouts, etc) or participate. This club is about the connections we create as people, not our characters.
Equite Mentorship. I have already been approved to implement the basic infrastructure of my program to help any member at the rank of Journeyman 4 work towards the vaunted rank of Equite 4. This program is not for everyone, but it will give you solid direction, conversation, and life skills that can be utilized outside of our club.
Leadership Training. Anyone interested in learning skills or apprenticing in House Excidium is welcome. You will learn my brand of leadership (not for everyone) and you will apprentice under a veteran (much like Kylex and Derek currently are). Skills and knowledge must be accumulated and are not given out for free in life.
House Identity. We got blown up. The Executor is now a Dark Sider and former Emperor. Things are changing. If you want in on the conversation, please let me know and you can be added to the chat. This is also where we are developing our future Battle Team. Expect rough drafts to be published for feedback and positive criticism throughout the endeavor.
Culture. I want to build our culture through a commitment to one another. This means we will have lots of conversations about supporting your fellow members, serving your fellow members, and the importance of participation. We will also have an intense focus on ensuring the activities we provide are high quality and engage our membership. If they do not, we will adapt and overcome.
Character Development. I want us to have a plethora of activities you as members. I will also commit to ensuring we help you shape, understand, and create engaging characters in this universe. We will work diligently to keep workshops on-going to build your dossier (Character Image, Wiki Page, Character Sheet, etc) in addition to all those Fiction/Gaming activities.
While that is not a full encompassing list of what is bouncing around in my mind, it does give you an understanding that there will be something for everyone. And if you have an idea that isn’t presented on here, be sure to contact me so we can add it to the list!
This report has been more manifesto than actual reporting. Yet, I think it is valuable time spent together. You need to understand my motivations and where my train of thought is going. I need you to know that everyone has a part to play in this saga. And together we just might create something both magical and eternal in the history of our Clan. This club is about people coming together more so than it is about Star Wars, competitions, or any other labels we have applied in the past. This House is about giving you the opportunity to explore new things without the risk of failure (you have my support!). Be brave. Use that trust to try new things, find new skills, hone old ones. If you fail, I will catch you.
As always, I am very excited by the tremendous effort and courage of our members. I hope you continue to put yourself out there: do competitions you aren’t entirely comfortable with, tackle challenges you never thought you could overcome, and - most importantly - have fun while being the best.
I am, your servant,
Braecen Kaeth
Quaestor of Excidium
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Fantastic report. So excited to see what this new age of Excidium brings!
Excited to see what Excidium becomes :)