Fiction Update

Appius stepped onto the stage, sans helmet. The light glistened off of his crimson armour around the chamber. The platform lifted into the air, holding him directly in the middle where everyone could see him.

"About kriffing time!" Tracinya bellowed.

She was hushed by those surrounding her, including Raistline, the Thanatos Quaestor. He looked at her with a stern expression that made her go quiet instantly. Although, Tracinya's antics had managed to get a loud giggle out of Aay'han, who sat beside her.

"Taldryanites, allies of Taldryan, dignitaries from neighbouring sectors, and members of the Brotherhood. Some of you may know me, some of you may have tried to kill me before, or I tried to kill you…" Appius gave a hard look into the holocam. "You know who you are. For those who don't know, my name is Appius, and I am the reigning Consul and Head of State of Taldryan. You are probably wondering why I invited you all here today…"

Read the full Fiction Update HERE.

Geez, Appius. This report is a bit late, isn't it? I can hear you all asking.

I know, I know. Truth be told, I'd actually started this report shortly after the end of the war with the intention of it being released in mid-July. However, there has been a lot going on behind the scenes which inevitably led to this being delayed. For that, I do apologise. I don't like leaving you guys without your monthly dose of me rambling on and on for ages.

So, with that said, what exactly has been going on behind the scenes?

Our Allegiance Is To The Republic, To Democracy!

Shortly after the war concluded, the topic of a theme for Taldryan was brought up once again. The reason I believe it keeps being brought up is because if you take a look at every other Clan in the Brotherhood, you see there's always an underlying theme for Clan members to rally behind, or an identity that they can share amongst each other. CSP, for example, are Galactic Empire themed, CNS are Sith Empire inspired, Vizsla are Mandalorian/Mercenary, COU are Jedi Order themed etc etc you get the idea.

Recently, Taldryan hadn't really had anything like that. Now, there are benefits to that of course, given the diverse range of member characters we have in the Clan, it's easy for a recruit or veteran member to just slot right in and make whatever they want, no questions asked be they Jedi, Sith, Mandalorian, Loyalist, or some combination of the above, and interact with the little corner of the Brotherhood we've carved for ourselves thus far. However, outside of that, in recent years we haven't had anything really say "This is who we are, and this is what we are based on."

There were lots of ideas thrown around. Monarchy, Mafia, Illuminati etc etc, but I had criteria that had to be met;

1) It has to make sense fictionally given the condition of the Clan after the Children of Mortis attack.

2) It needed to be something that we can feasibly still have anyone make whatever character they want and still fit in in some way. That, as far as I've been in Taldryan, has always been one of the Clan's biggest strengths.

3) Must be Star Wars themed in some way. It is a Star Wars club after all.

4) Must be able to fit with the Clan Motto; A brotherhood within a Brotherhood.

Vodo brought up the idea of a Roman Senate. I thought to myself, what would that look like if we Star Wars-ified it up a bit? Then it hit me. It'd look a bit like the Galactic/New Republic.

When brought up, the Taldryan Story Group agreed it was a good idea. It wasn't being explored elsewhere in the Club to the best of our knowledge, and it presented a good opportunity to do something unique. We got to work putting this into action.

The Taldryan Republic

The first question, then, is what exactly makes up the Taldryan Republic?

Most of you might be familiar with this map from one of my previous reports. Now, we don't own everything on the map. The stuff that Taldryan "owns" can be seen in our possessions. (Barring Chyron because fictionally it is a separate government and ally run by a certain Jester.)

Instead, these are separate and neighbouring sectors filled with systems and governments that provide resources, and in return, we provide resources of our own, including military strength. It's a Republic, a set of systems and states that have come together under a democratic union for the betterment of each other.

The Supreme Chancellor (The Taldryan Consul) oversees it all and ensures peace and prosperity throughout the Republic. The Proconsul serves as Vice-Chancellor, and the House Ektrosis serves as Governor of Kasiya, and the House Thanatos Quaestor serves as Governor of Elysia, as seen below;

Speaking of the Taldryan military, theming the Clan on the Galactic Republic has opened up some interesting possibilities for both the Taldryan Navy and Military.

One of, if not the biggest change is to the Axios.

It has been changed to a Nebula Star Destroyer, the same kind used by the New Republic. The story is that after the battle over Kasiya with the Ascendant Fleet, parts of the Axios were refitted and repurposed for the new ship. It was made better and stronger and is now the flagship for the 2nd Battle Group of the Taldryan Republic.

If you are a bit eagle-eyed, you might have spotted the new upgrade that has been slotted into it! It's one of our awards for coming third as a Clan in Great Jedi War XV, the Ascendant Sensor Suite!

The description of the item reads as follows;

The sensor systems on this capital ship have been augmented with an Ascendant Sensor Suite, allowing long-range tracking and detection of ascendant crystals, crystal ascendants, and any weapons or equipment that has been infused with ascendant crystals with pinpoint accuracy within two parsecs.

I want to take the opportunity to give a shout out to Bentre, the former CNS Consul. He approached me after Taldryan was moved from 2nd place to 3rd and asked me if we had our eyes on anything in particular, and if so, we could have it given what had happened with the mistake in the scoring. He showed a lot of class and I wanted to take a moment to highlight that.

The next ship to highlight is the new Starhawk MK-II!

This thing is designed specifically to eat Star Destroyers for breakfast. Which is why it is the new flagship for the 1st Taldryan Republic Battle Group. The Starhawk is also where the Advanced Kyber-Powered Turbolazer upgrade has been slotted.

Those are just two of the big changes that have been made. You can obviously see more if you take a look at the possessions tab on the Taldryan Roster Page.

You may notice that many of the ships don't have names yet. That's because YOU have the chance to name them! Teebu and Zentru’la are running a naming competition series where the winning entries will became tbe new names for the Taldryan Fleet! There are 36 comps in total for incredibly easy participation!

To take part and have a chance at having your names selected for the fleet's ships, take a look at the container and comps by clicking HERE.

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Zentru’la, Jorm, and Teebu for their work on the fleet. I've said it before, but I am not the best when it comes to possessions, so it was fantastic having them discuss the pros and cons of each vessel, set budgets, and make ideas work.

With that, there's only one more thing to say in regards to Taldryan's new theme…

Great Jedi War XV

I want to take the opportunity to highlight those who put in the work during this last vendetta. It was a fun one, it was my first as Consul of this wonderful Clan, and it was fantastic to see so many of you put your best foot forward and represent Taldryan as best you can.

With that being said, the following individuals participated in every Bin;

• Appius
• Zentru’la
• Raistline
• Koda

But wait, there's more! The following individuals managed to participate in at least one Bin;

• Halc
• Benevolent
• Shanree
• Jorm
• Aylin
• Teebu
• Tracinya
• Dasha
• Aay'han
• Crysenia
• Cryo
• Centam

In total between everyone, there were 169 submissions across the entirety of GJW XV and you should all be proud of yourselves. In total, we had 64% participation from the Clan, which is nothing to scoff at! Thank you all so much for your time and dedication. You guys are what makes this Clan work as well as it does, and regardless of our Clan placement, I'm thankful and proud of you all.

In terms of how many points were earned specifically by each member, you can see that above.

Big congratulations to Zentru’la for getting First Hero! But a vendetta is as much a team effort as it is an individual one. Our Clan Run-On achieved first place, and there were many who received Novae for their efforts. Such as;

• Aay'han: 2x Gold Nova

• Aylin: 1x Gold Nova, 1x Silver Nova

• Centam: 2x Gold Nova

• Dasha: 1x Gold Nova

• Jorm: 1x Gold Nova

• Koda: 1x Gold Nova, 1x Bronze Nova

• Raistline: 2x Gold Nova

• Shanree: 1x Gold Nova

• Teebu: 1x Gold Nova, 1x Bronze Nova

• Tracinya: 1x Gold Nova

• Valkyrie: 1x Gold Nova, 1x Bronze Nova

• Zentru’la: 4 Gold Nova, 2 Silver Nova

Congratulations to all of you on your awards! You all worked incredibly hard, and I'm really proud of you all!

Speaking of awards…

Awards and Promotions

This is one of my favourite things to do as Consul. I get to award all of you for your hard work. The following awards and promotions have been earned;

• Aay'han has been promoted to EQ2!

• Centam has been promoted to EQ1!

• Crysenia has earned a Dark Cross!

• Dasha has earned a Dark Cross!

• Jorm has earned a Anteian Cross!

• Koda was promoted to JM4!

• Raistline was awarded a Steel Cross!

• Valkyrie was promoted to EQ1!

Zentru’la was awarded a Steel Cross!

Congratulations to all of you on your hard work, and thank you for putting your time and effort into making this Clan what it is. Without you, the members, there is no Clan, and there is no Brotherhood.

So, thank you once again…

Great Jedi War Winnings

If you all read Zxyl's latest report, you'll know that we as a Clan, managed to rake in nearly 74 million credits! The majority if that went towards the new Taldryan Republic Navy, which I've already covered above. Along with that, for coming 3rd in the war, you got to choose an upgrade for the fleet, the Ascension Sensor Suite, which I also covered up above.

But I also wanted to go over something else we received. The Consul's of each Clan were contacted regarding creating a Clan possession out of the crystals that were used against us.

Here's what we came up; The Kasiya Mothercrystal Shield Generator!

The item description is as follows;

Created from purified ascendant crystal taken from the asteroid that struck Kasiya in 40 ABY, the Kasiya Mothercrystal Shield Generator is a large chunk of purified ascendant crystal housed inside a special emitter and amplification chamber. When the chamber is activated, It projects a bubble-shaped shield that is nearly impenetrable to bombardment or entry, and is large enough to envelop an entire moon.

I'd like to thank Koda for the artwork that was submitted. It was actually his summit project that was part of what earned him his promotion!

Basically, the story behind the shield generator is that after our original shield gate took an asteroid to the face, we wanted something better, stronger, more efficient at protecting Kasiya. Ig has the strength of the same GenCore II used by the second Death Star, so its incredibly powerful.

New Ektrosis Quaestor and Aedile

Most of you already know this, but it should be highlighted. Shortly after the GJW, Crysenia stepped down from Ektrosis Quaestor. I'd like to thank her for her dedication and work in the position. She was a valuable member of the Taldryan Summit, and it was sad to see her step down.

Regardless, a new Quaestor was selected after an application process, and I am delighted to announce (late, granted) that our Valkyrie/Cryo, the former Aedile, has stepped up to the Quaestor position and has already organised some competitions for you guys! (More on that below.

After some discussion between myself and Teebu, we decided to name Koda as new Ektrosis Aedile!

Please join me in congratulating them both!

Taldryan Artifact Allocation

It's a new quarter! So it's time to reassign the Taldryan Artifacts!

As a reminder, they are;

• The Cylinder of Taldryae

The Cylinder of Taldryae is a specialized and gold-plated code cylinder Accessory, alchemically enhanced with the Clan Taldryan emblem in ruby-red. It is unusually light in weight and can easily be concealed, though it radiates a dark aura. It lacks waterproofing, and prolonged exposure to water can render the cylinder inert for a short time. Taldryan legends say those who hold the cylinder for long periods of time turn bloodthirsty and hungry for combat, leading to their eventual demise. It grants command authority of the Cohors Praetoria Taldryae military task force to whoever holds it, a unit hand-picked by the Consul themself. The task force is undying in their loyalty, and will only recognize the bearer of this code cylinder. The Cylinder of Taldryae is awarded by the Consul to the designated Warbringer, a member recognized for their outstanding military achievements. Should anyone who is not the acting Warbringer attempt to use the cylinder, a painful and potentially lethal electric shock created by the Sith Alchemy used on this item will attack the holder.

This artifact is held by Taldryan's Warbringer, the retaining owner is Zentru’la.

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• The Blood Bond Cauldron

The Blood Bond Cauldron is a large metallic pot inscribed with various runes, colored a blood-red. It is made of alchemically enhanced durasteel, and is used by Force-sensitive and non-Force-sensitive members alike by offering a drop of blood into the liquid within that bubbles red in response. A brotherhood within a Brotherhood in artifact form, once bonded with the cauldron an empathetic link is created that reaches on a planetary scale allowing the one who possesses it to determine the health of Clan Taldryan members. The inscriptions on the cauldron glow and rise in temperature when a member is under duress. Force-imbued wood is required to boil the blood inside the cauldron which can only be obtained from the jungles surrounding the former Taldryan Citadel on Ostara. The Blood Bond Cauldron is awarded by the Consul to whoever holds the title of Taldryan Loremaster, with knowledge of the ritual passed down from Loremaster to Loremaster and kept a closely guarded secret.

This artifact is held by tbe revived Taldryan Loremaster (formerly Lorekeeper), the next of which is Aylin

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• The Scion Bryar Lightsword

The Scions Bryar Lightsword is an elegantly hand-crafted Lightsaber Pistol created by former Consul Rian Taldrya. The main body strongly resembles that of a Bryar Pistol, with a lightsaber emitter on the topside of the weapon. The blaster mode is accurate at medium ranges, and can charge up and fire a longer burst like a regular Bryar Pistol. Components placed within the custom casing allow the weapon to create a lightsaber blade through the top emitter while the midsection and barrel fold downward. The Scions Bryar Lightsword is awarded by the Consul to the designated Gatekeeper, and is a true example of how the Gatekeeper diversifies not only their attacks but protection of Clan Taldryan as well.

This artifact is held by the newly revived Taldryan Gatekeeper, the next of which is Centam.

As a reminder, every quarter when the Taldryan Summit does its award review, we will also look at the members who have been the most active in competitions, events, earning clusters etc etc. Every little bit of activity you get earns you a set amount of points depending on what the activity in question is. For example, doing a regular comp will net you 15 points, but a graphics comp will net you 30 because of the extra effort generally involved. It is important to note that placements DO NOT matter here. This is about activity, not who is the best artist, gamer, writer etc etc. This is to value you showing up, and doing the things.

Recovery: Port Kasiya Edition

Valkyrie has gotten straight to work as Ektrosis Quaestor by hosting the Recovery: Port Kasiya Edition series of comps.

There are three competitions within, a fiction, gaming and art comp. These run until the 1st of September! I'm taking part, and you guys don't want me to win, do you? ;D

A Night At The Playground

For those who are unaware, we have a fun, casual RP going on at the moment! Any member of Taldryan can join, and there have been some… interesting developments to say the least. If you are a Taldryan member and want in, please send a message to myself or any other member of the Taldryan Summit and we will get you added!

AskAppiusAnything

It's that time again! Where you all ask questions and I answer!

• Aay'han Asks: Can we have Clan wide brunches to boost morale?

I approve of ALL the brunches.

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• Teebu Asks: What happens if a Palpy type figure eventually gets Supreme Chancellor and a random backwater senator proposes emergency powers for him/her?

Technically, that's already happened. The Taldryan Consul is the Supreme Chancellor, meaning they oversee everything anyways. What stops this from turning into an Empire under the rule of a madman is the Taldryan Senate, who hold the actions of the Supreme Chancellor accountable and in-character, can have them suspended or even evicted from office if necessary.

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• Raistline Asks: What are some underrated animes?

I watched one called Angel Beats years ago. I won't spoil it in case you wanna watch it, but the ending tugs at your heart strings.

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• Valkyrie Asks: Favorite pokemon game?

Legends Arceus is up there just for how different it is. For the main series ones, I have a lot of nostalgia for the original red/blue and gold/silver. I had a N64 with pokemon stadium. I used to hook them up and play with the team I made.

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• Ben Asks: Favourite triangle?

Acute, because its not Obtusive.

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• Koda Asks: Sword, Axe, or Hammer?

Sword. Though I'm pretty partial to axes too.

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• Zen Asks: What's your favourite recipe including ewok?

I prefer a slow roast over a campfire. Once the meat is tender, drizzle it with honey farmed from the bees of Naboo. Its sweet, yet succulent at the same time.

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• Korvis Asks: How about a more hard hitting question. What, if anything, would you like to see changed about vendettas?

OK, so, I can't speak for every member of the club. I'm but one Consul of one Clan, so feel free to take what I say with a grain of salt.

So, the Vendetta structure/length, in my opinion, needs looking at. Why do I say this? When I look at Taldryan's numbers in particular, there were more submissions during phase 1 than there were during phase 2. There are a few potential reasons for that, such as a new war, people are excited and go in all guns blazing, then by the time phase 2 rolls around people are burnt out. Then there are some that just lost interest in it. I had a couple of members specifically say they lost interest during phase 2 after participating in phase 1. Perhaps one big phase run over a month would be something to experiment with? I can see the argument being "but what about story updates?" My answer to that would be just do it anyways. Make prompts that allow members to interact with the club story however they want. At the end of the day... that's what members want to do, right?

I make it sound simple, I'm sure it's more complicated than that, but if there's one thing I've learnt in my time in tbe DJB, it's that you won't know if something works unless you throw it at the wall and see if it sticks. :)

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• Liandry Asks: Why did I check discord and therefore miss my bus?

Because you wanted to see what kind of enlightening gibberish I was going on about today! :D

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• Anubis Asks: What's next for Taldryan fictionally?

Developing Kasiya is next. We have Port Kasiya, but there's an entire moon out there to build for whatever the Taldryan Membership want. Its part of Project Vos which I announced shortly after becoming Consul.

Outside of that, there are traces of the CoM left to deal with, and then after that, there are those who are not keen to see a Taldryan Republic flourish…

Then, there's also talks of a PRO BOWL in the next couple of months or so, so keep an eye out on news about that.

Conclusion

Is that everything? I think that's everything… I hope that's everything. 😆

Thank you all for taking the time to read this, I realize that this was a huge report, and I thank you for taking the time to give it a look.

As a final note, the GJW Survey is out now, I'd highly recommend everyone fill it in. It's an opportunity to have your voices heard regarding vendetta in the future.

Until next time!