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My first report will be far less a report on the Brotherhood, and more a collection of my thoughts and experiences I’ve gathered as a member and leader in a Clan, and my work with the Master At Arms. It will, I hope, give everyone some insights into my thoughts and working style, and what I hope to achieve and do with this new role right away. Also, I am having some report graphics worked on, but I didn’t want to delay my first report so you’ll have to pretend it looks good.

About me

I joined the DJB back in 2000, when all I really wanted to do was play the Dark Brotherhood missions on TIE Fighter. My first Clan then was Scholae Palatinae, but I rode the Exodus into the Rogues, and only eventually came back at the behest of Bubba and ended up being assigned to Clan Tarentum. With a new eye towards fiction and stories, with no interest in again owning a joystick, I’d spend some time there, and some time in the Rogues, before finally finding a place to call home in Clan Scholae Palatinae. When Kalen eventually entrusted me with an opportunity as a Magistrate to the Master at Arms, and Xen entrusted me as Aedile in Scholae Palatinae, I had all the support necessary to help foster my ideas and accomplish everything I have to date in the Brotherhood. Eventually helping see our House become a Clan again, and working as Praetor to the Master At Arms for what has almost been a year now. Mostly approving things, sometimes rejecting things.

Away from the Brotherhood, I am a program manager, for what it’s worth. Between work, and spending time with my family, I read about Star Wars things and consuming what I can, and then trying to create instead and it ended up being an enjoyable pastime.

Voice priorities

• Character Development: Many of us have invested a tremendous amount of time, thought, and effort, into our characters. I want to give everyone an opportunity to spend more time writing with, and being your characters, and through the Fiction Society and other ways perhaps not thought of yet, reward that activity. I list this first, because everything below, is for the members, and to give them an opportunity to do exactly this.

• Fiction Society: As a top priority, I am putting together various revisions and versions that exist today and putting them together and getting out an Evant V1.0 as it were. As the now 3rd person to report on this important coming system of horizontal advancement for writers. I can’t give details, but I can share my goal: Create a society structured such that members just write, in competitions, run-ons, ACC battles and have fun and see themselves advancing over time without thinking about it. I want the rewards and tiers to be meaningful, and I want it to have some fictional bearing on things. Luckily I can draw inspiration from existing societies, and there is data out there I can’t wait to analyze and review, to get this done as quickly as is possible.

• Dark Brotherhood Plot: I know as much as anyone else coming into this role, what we’ve heard from Shad in his previous report on the matter. So there will be change for certain, and as with the announcement on species recently as an example, there will be more to come to align to the new Canon. I expect some open discussions will lead this overall effort, across the Brotherhood, with different fictional releases and updates to the wiki to really explore what’s going on. How rapid, or slowly that transition happens, will likely depend on what needs to be accomplished. In the end - I’d like to make it all clear on the wiki, and fully understood for all of you who work so hard on your characters, what role they play in the DJB fictional universe.

• Antei Combat Center: I’ve worked with Wally in the past, and am excited to get an opportunity to do so again. This time emphasis on the with. He is Combat Master, so he is running the show, but he knows he has my full support to ensure this remains a priority for the Voice and for the Brotherhood. This includes the Character Sheets (2.0), and venues and supporting tools and structures. This includes some additional major changes that all drive opportunity that I have already begun to discuss and review with him.

I have a host of other ideas, and I’m still digesting the list of projects ongoing currently with the Voice staff. I won’t go into any of those now, but I did want to give a brief update on what I discussed in my application for Voice on where my head was at, and reiterate what the priorities are right now for me. Also not surprisingly the same priorities that Sarin mentioned he had for me.

Competitions

This is a subject that is very close to me, as the author of the Competitions course in the Shadow Academy, and having seen what does and doesn’t work for competitions for a while now. I will continue the current Voice approval guidelines and am more inclined to restrict further rather than relax these when run at the DJB Wide level. Fairness, above all else, and clarity on exactly what to do, and how you will be judged. This will eventually mean deviation from the rubric must be specifically list how, and scrutiny on placements just like before. All in the name of integrity.

I am not entirely sure yet where I will go with running Voice fictions, but if you recall Shad’s “Story Events” where you get an opportunity to take part in the main Brotherhood story, that’s where my head's at as well. So as the new Dark Brotherhood Plot is unveiled, I expect fiction competitions run by me to go along with it.

Staffing

• Work load: I am currently looking at the list of ongoing projects, who is working on them, and understanding really what everyone is doing. This shouldn’t take long though, and I’ll have a good idea of what work lay ahead for the entirety of the Voice staff.

• Extended staff: Right now the Voice works with the Combat Master and the Wiki Tribune, so collectively that is a lot of work to be accomplished. These three roles make up a bulk of the fictional exposure members have with the Brotherhood. All a key part of the experience. I will be working closely with both Wally and Slags to prioritize projects, and determine what their respective staffs can take on and what the Voice staff itself will handle.

• Magistrates: When it comes to the Voice staff, there will be specific projects that need to be accomplished. I will very much make use of Magistrates to accomplish those tasks. Current Magistrates are working on different projects and I am seeing where they’re at and what work lay ahead for them.

• Praetor: Regarding Praetor, Shad didn’t have one, and while I catch up to speed and learn about all the different ongoing activities of the office, I am not in a position to train one myself. I don’t currently plan to take on a Praetor anytime soon, but may do so at some point in the future.

Clusters of Ice

Send the lists to me. Pin#Wordcount format please. Pin#Wordcount#Postcount for run-ons.

Conclusion

I’ve been Voice for about a day now, need to create some graphics and maybe an avatar, and figure out what everyone on my staff is doing. I’ve already gotten great support and look forward to helping manage the great ideas and thoughts of the Brotherhood and shaping an enjoyable future for fiction writers. Also, maybe have some fun along the way. Probably some beers. Probably both.

In darkness,

Evant Taelyan Voice of the Brotherhood