Hello. I kind of fell off the face of the earth just over a year ago and drifted into the void. Some of you may remember me, others may not, some of you I may have recruited/approved. So I'll introduce myself. I'm Arokh. I joined this group in 2010, back when we were a Second-Life Military operation. I had never been involved in, or heard of the SLMC beforehand and was encouraged to by my then housemate at the time after drifting aimlessly around the virtual worlds platform for many years. I was Initially overwhelmed by the dedication and enthusiasm of its members, but I soon took to it and found my drive within the ranks. Turns out I'm pretty shitty at direct combat for such a big guy, and found I fared better in the Judicial side of things, hunched over a desk filing papers, and quietly climbed the ranks within, what was known then as Curia. I soon became dedicated to the division, and my heart and mind found it's home there. I spent time as a squad commander of the then named Antesignani, faced subversive attacks and military tribunal, and further withdrew into my administrative role after successfully appealing my expulsion from the squad, declining my position. Following a motorcycle accident where I banged my head against a post pretty hard, and vanished for a couple weeks(head injuries suck) I got back into my role in Curia hardcore. Forward on a year or so and I was promoted to Officer rank, and Consul Secondous of Curia. Under the command of the Consul Primus, Heather Mckay. At the time, Curia handled all applicants to our Second Life military, internal affairs, disciplinary rulings that went above squad level, one-to-one counselling, and some diplomatic affairs, it was a fairly busy department with a range of 6-8 staff. One Consul Primus, two secondous, then low level staff who handled the bulk of application paperwork. The department was renamed the Office of Imperial Affairs and I eventually succeeded Consul Primus Mckay as she stepped down and took on her role, achieving my career dream goal in the Ordo Imperialis, and re-writing the design of the department entirely shortly before our exit from the SLMC. Formal history aside, I was that 12ft tall dragon with the british accent that lurked in Vent/TeamSpeak, wielding comically oversized editions of standard issue Ordo Imperialis rifles. (Thanks Tsume, Much love.) Attacking armies used to mistake me for a mech/walker, and Lone Wolfers would run like Ffff whenever I came sprinting after them. And I always deny all allegations of rejected recruit/cadet disappearances. I'd like to think I wasn't truly 'born' into SecondLife until I joined the Ordo Imperialis and was shown it's greatest potentials. Tsume showed me what real quality coding and scripting was, Inoue's Mercury was a masterpiece of web and server based automation that constantly evolved, Keno showed me truly (albeit resource heavy) worlds in secondlife like no other, Heather Mckay showed me my true strengths as an individual, and Aryte Vesperia showed me my potential as a person to become something great, and be driven by my own motivation. Ethan showed me the true art of trolling. Afevis showed me how to do my own job better than me, for which ironically I probably wouldn't have drifted away if he wasn't so amazing and I had so much faith in him to succeed me. (jerk. <3) I could go on, but know this. I love each and every one of you, even though I never showed it through my grumpy, dour exterior. I settled differences between some of you whom grew to be good friends with one another, I offered advice, guidance and training to some of you who went on to become something truly incredible within this group, and for a division as unrewarding as mine was, there was no greater reward than seeing you guys succeed. Having spent 3 years of my life with some of you, I can say it was the best 3 years of my life. The Ordo Imperialis changed me, for better or worse, into the man I am today, and I couldn't be more grateful for the life experience you all shared with me. Then I headbutted a car at 50mph. (Again.) (Footage some viewers may find disturbing: Content warning.) [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCgxgRtmRN4&list=TLM9lwPoYNNJo Spent some brief time as a cripple walking with a cane, but ultimately recovered physically. But not so much mentally. (I'm OK now.) I have my reasons for staying away as long as I did, and I'm sorry I turned my back on you all for so long as you deserve better, I acted a coward and the longer I stayed away, the harder I found it to return. I'm glad to say I'm back, albeit in a lesser sense of my former self, but comfortable with it. To old faces I say, 'Hello again, old friends.' and to new, let's get to know one another! And with your welcome, I'd like to resume normal service within the Ordo Imperialis. Ave Imperator. Reward: Since you read that massive wall of rambling text, here is some cool shit I made during my time here.
