The heavy metal door of the Melee Magthere academy stood wide open since last cycle. The cold air of the cavern drafted inside the building and swirled around the entry. The soft breeze was consumed by the braziers that once again lit the foyer of the melee school. Under the dim light four new dummies faced any who entered until they too would be replaced. All notices were removed from the notice board which now was underdivided by head tags: Ranks, Enlistment, Message en Special Notices.

"Uxultius! Look at this!" The short man looked over his shoulders. A snarl drew the corners of his mouth twistedly. "Bloody slave", he muttered while his eyes glanced down at the empty corridor through the door of the untidy office of the Ul'saruk in the Melee Magthere. By the looks of the man he couldn't be much of a warrior himself for he had neither the age nor the stature for physical duty. He was rearranging the entire office from mail to furniture.

Any visitor who'd ask him for his master would get the same infuriated reply: "Master?...Master? Dare not to suggest I'm a filthy slave! I'm a commoner of Edonil!" A cooled down Thrialdor would eventually say something useful in reply: "Work?...Are you saying I don't work? Oh. Employed you mean? I'm employed by Lo'milmar Cil'in."

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Thrialdor took his time to copy the text the new Ul'saruk had passed him. He sat on the seat left of the Ul'saruk's one. While he copied the mission statement Lo'milmar had given him, he succeeded in interlocking a sigh and a frown into something beyond decency. "Why must I copy this? Such a waste of my time! The Ul'saruk's handwriting is not that bad. I should be asking a raise!" When he posted the copy of the original mission statement to the Special Notices board, he had to remark nonetheless that his handwriting was better than the original after all.



The short man left the Melee Magthere shortly after he posted the note. He knew he had a lot of work ahead.

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Carefully he dipped the pen into a small vial of inkt. He took his time to draw the diagram of the new ranking system. It had taken him a while to come up with such a plain structure. "Once again an example of why I'm the best scribe of Edonil. Such a complex idea poured into a simple design. Geniality! Imagine what this academy would be without me."




The Ul'saruk
The Ul'saruk, or Warlord, is the highest ranking warrior of a drow city. They are in charge of making decisions concerning raids, the city's defense, and the training of warriors. Often the Ul'saruk is chosen from among the strongest of warriors, but with the responsibility and status that comes with the position, a shrewd mind, proper manners and a charismatic presence are great assets.

Sut'rinos
Sut'rinos means commander. They are the best of the best, the most trusted subordinates of the Ul'saruk. Upon achieving the rank of sut'rinos, the drow is expected to hold classes, plan and execute raids, and work as the Ul'saruk's eyes and ears. They have the authority to promote sargtlinen to the rank of drada, without specifically consulting the Ul'saruk beforehand. They can also recommend possible sut'rinos candidates to the Ul'saruk.

Olath'Sut'rinos
This temple guard is commander at heart who has proven himself worthy to carry out tasks for the Temple and the Yath personally. He's in charge of the defence of the Temple and it's near proximity. He leads the temple guards who are assigned to the protection of the Yath. The Olath'sutrinos is the connection between the Temple and the Melee Academy. Besides his divine duties, he's in charge of the training of the temple guard.

You can become a sut'rinos only by the permission of the Ul'saruk. Levels of power do not matter, if he doesn't approve. The general guideline is, that two sut'rinen per house, at maximum, will be accepted.

Draada"quarthin and Olath'draada'quartin.
The dradan are the lower officers of the academy. Something equivalent of a lieutenant. Dradan may lead minor raids, take personal apprentices and aid in teaching the sargtlinen. They answer to the sut'rinen and the Ul'saruk, and will face the consequences of their failures. They can command sargtlinen, as long as they're not contradicting orders from higher up. Dradan are often expected to lead patrols into the tunnels around the city. The Olath''dradan are officers of the Melee Academy who've also proven themselves before the Temple. Besides their duties as lieutenant they've been assigned special tasks by the Temple.

Ust'Sargtlin
Ust sargtlin are the warriors who have proven themselves worthy of promotion but not ready to be an officer. There duties are to be the eyes and ears to the draden to help with training of the new recruits they may lead patrols but not raids. They must continue to train and attend classes and patrol the tunnels around the city.

Sargtlin and Olath'sargtlin
Sargtlinen are the lowest of warriors in the academy. They're the ones studying their first years in the academy, the footsoldiers with little value other than their combat-prowess and obedience. Unlike officers, a sargtlin is just expected to follow orders. If they are told to take part in a plan bound to fail, they do it. The higher-ups, who have planned the operation, will face the consequences. The sargtlinen are judged by their obedience. Sargtlinen frequently patrol the tunnels around the city, keeping an eye out for possible threats. They attend classes, and train in the use of many basic weapons. Most end up specializing in one, towards the end of their sargtlinhood. Sargtlinen who demonstrate divine abilities may be chosen so serve the Temple. They'll be personally trained by the Olath'sut'rinos and his dradan.


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The rank descriptions are taken from Beciv's OP for which my thanks.

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When he came to his last task of the cycle, the depressed man oddly enough lightened up a little. With a rapid, yet, solid hand, he registered the new enrollment. "Why is my name not on that list? How could he forget my role?", Thrialdor flushed with embarrassment. He finished the note without his custom creativity. He posted the paper on the Rank board and flashed a furrowed stare at it. After making sure he was alone in the entry, he pulled out his pen again.

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Ust’Ilharess Nizzre’tyne had paused to read the latest postings of the Melee Magthere. She gave little nods indicating she had probably known of this and agreed with the information right up until the very last title and name. Then a rare smirk graced her features and she added a short few words in her elegant script.

Well done.
Lolth tlu Malla,
Yathrin Ust’Ilharess Nizzre’tyne Tinnerai

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Ari'aerath Dlues'athsha ~ Silver Singer with the Bow of the Sun
Clarette Feohn ~ Magic is Art.
Victoria Marrs ~ "I have an herb for that."

A new version of the memberlist was put up.

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*Ssin'urn pauses and reads it through, her eyes narrowing in anger as she points out something with a brief note in archaic script*


Tsabkel d'Aphyon's application was lost I presume, since none of these jalukken were of strong presence in Edonil when he applied.

~Ssin'urn Rah d'Aphyon
Yathrinshee d'Kiaransalee
Ilharess d'Qu'ellar Rah d'Aphyon

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A new name had been added to the rank list. Scribbled in a handwriting that looked much like the Ul'saruk's hand. The inkt seemed to be different as well. The addendum was written without taking the paper of the board. Inkt smeared out in the corners of the name.



The short man had noticed the change in enrollment as well. He stood sighing when he saw the change on his paper. "Why am I the scribe, if he does it himself?" With a snort Thrialdor had taken down the entire note. Not long after, a new memberlist was added to the boards. Every name written in the fine handwriting of the clerk.

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"I don't know why the jaluk can't just present himself!" He was searching through archived papers. The former Ul'saruken hadn't made paperwork a priority. That was in the meantime clear to him. He had already classified every single document he had found in the Melee Magthere when he arrived. That was a lot of work, even for me, he was thinking. "Where could I find that registry of Tsabkel d'aphyon?" His system was not to blame. He had organized every report by date, if a date was included. Payrolls he had seperated from the paperwork and ordered per alphabet. Unable to find the name Tsabkel d'Aphyon on the payroll, Rhialdor decided the jaluk had lied about his application. "A jaluk lied to his matron and I'm to solve it? But's that an internal affair, not my domain."

He had taken up his pen and started to write a note to clear out the matter at hand.



The note was sent along with a courrier to deliver at House d'Aphyon.

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*penned back, very terse and with more than a hint of annoyance at being questioned*

Uk was personally interview by Malla Yathallar Ilharess Nizzre'tyne d'Tinnerai, as was his demonstration of ability. I am to understand she was abruptly called away to deal with the Infidel Viz'aun before the final interview was concluded. This does not mean it did not happen. You might consider checking with her before assuming my jaluk lied. Rearrange his status? He applied -before- -you- took the position.

*below is a copy of Tsabkel's application and response that were generated*








Tsabkel was left waiting for a reply, apparently this is the reply to his application which I find wholely unsatisfactory and even somewhat insulting, a simple no to his application would have been much more acceptable than just being ignored.

~Ilharess d'Qu'ellar Rah d'Aphyon

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Thrialdor furrowed. He did not like the response the matron had sent him in return. "Perhaps she should hire her own clerk. She obviously can't read.", he muttered when he had slowly read her letter for the second time. After he had classed the note in his mail box, he went to see if the Ul'saruk was around. When he could not find Lo'milmar, he locked the office and ended his cycle. "Apparently the warrior applied many cycles ago and did not bother to return to the academy. He can wait another cycle, perhaps, he counts on it. If the matron is so eager to add the Melee Magthere to the palmares of her house, why doesn't she..." He silenced himself the moment he walked out of the empty entry unto the street.

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"I need more inkt if I'm to reply to every letter." The short man growled to the courier delivering today's mail. He had returned to his desk when most commoners hadn't even begun their cycle yet. Immediately he began shifting through the new letters. "....Bills...A letter from lesser house S'rith..." As usual, the clerk sorted every type of document into different boxes, facilitating his paperwork. He didn't need to read the unanswered letters to begin his first letter of the cycle.

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Ust’Ilharess Nizzre’tyne glided into the Ul’Saruk’s office and handed Thrialdor a letter. “See to it that the Ul’Saruk gets this.” She paused briefly to give him the once over before gliding back out.

//pm sent

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Ari'aerath Dlues'athsha ~ Silver Singer with the Bow of the Sun
Clarette Feohn ~ Magic is Art.
Victoria Marrs ~ "I have an herb for that."

A new enrollment paper made it to the board, duly written by the hand of Thrialdor.

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*Auen'nal dusts off the combat dummys as he looks around the magthere, he begins finding any and all commoners that are of intrest of the magthere and begines opening classes in the form of combat and its commands.*

*He places a notice up on the doors that the magthere that it is opened and training for all has started back up, should anyone wish training to find Sut'rinos Auen'nal*

*Fixing and replacing combat dummys as he continues to clean the dust from the walls and floor*

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Braller Thunderbeard: The Dwarven mini-Jesus with a porn star name. Blasphemous.
Dante: "He is likely to heal you as he is likely to smite you."

//See TheGreatEqualizer's Melee Magthere thread for up to date info.

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