Since I'm a glutton for punishment, loyal readers, I'm writing again to describe the events of February in the 'Ghul.

Most significant is the resignation of our feared and beloved org leader, Far Dareis Mai (or something... I could never get the spelling right without copy and paste). Far has been our most epic leader since the days of Roka. If you remember him, you've obviously been around a while - he left around about when the Band of the Red hand started up. Do I sound like I've been at DM too long? After Roka left, we had several leaders who, whlie deserving of the position, eventually grew inactive and needed to be replaced. This sort of thing is really a buzzkill and so when Far took over the reins the org was possibly a bit dilapidated. The org now is as large and as busy as I can ever remember, with many new members joining every month and even some older members beginning to reappear again. We thank her now for the time, energy and dedication that she put into Shayol Ghul in addition to her duties as an admin at DM.

A little bird tells me that there's infighting and squabbling aplenty behind the scenes between members of staff as to who will get her spot! Watch this space, as the competition for the coveted position of org leader will surely be intense. (Actually, if I'm honest, everybody I've talked to doesn't really seem to want the job, which is probably a mark of just how big an impact Far has had on us.)

Less significantly, Verbal32 has been raised to the position of Shaidar Haran, head of the Shadowspawn. Regular readers will remember how I speculated last month that this faction might be disbanded! This appointment has led to chilly relations between the Black Ajah and the Shadowspawn, since before his appointment Verbal used to be Black Ajah. Those at the Black Ajah now burn effigies of Verbal every night before they sleep. (Actually, we love him really.)

Less significantly again, Ed2funy has been appointed Chosen of the Dreadlords. He has risen through the ranks at an almost unprecedented speed. Readers again will recall that he was to compete in a deathmatch against one of the Black Ajah, which I as Black Ajah Head managed to appoint myself as the judge of. We all knew who was going to win beforehand, of course, but Ed took his loss well. The Black Ajah made a tidy profit from bets made on Ed's loss, as well! Hooray!

The Dreadies made up for this with a spectacular performance in the first-ever Faction Olympics. Kivam from the Black Ajah managed to score the most points, but a sterling performance from Aemon to earn several medals and many more points gave the Dreadies the overall victory.

Finally, it was heartening to see how many people from Shayol Ghul were represented in the nominations for the Empy awards, for which voting is still taking place as I write (I think). This is yet more proof that crime and evilness in general really does pay! Join me next month for more news from SG.