Member Spotlight: Marrow Rahien

Author: Locus Sarania, November 2010

As a former Recruit turned Soldier under his rule, I can attest that he is always out for new activities or ideas that light a fire under his horde.

Tower, meet Marrow. Marrow, meet Tower.

So how did all of this start for Marrow Gaidin? “I initially found out about Tar Valon through Dragon*Con. I officially joined the tower after D*con '06, but I dropped off almost immediately after, and it wasn’t until D*con '07, a firm push by Muirenn, and meeting Yelenia, that I really found my groove on the site.” I asked Marrow what keeps him coming back to the Tower and he states, “As horrible as an answer as this is for a Gaidin of MDD, it is the people that keep me coming back. There’s always someone new and interesting to get to know, even if they’re an ancient member who is only new to you personally.” Marrow shares a common interest with many other Tower members when it comes to what he likes about the site. “My favorite part of the site is the Real Life component to it.” A resident of Atlanta, Georgia, Marrow describes his home as the White Tower nucleus for the United States. “Atlanta thankfully boasts a large Tower population, and hosts two Cons (Dragon*Con and Jordan Con,) so there is usually at least one get together a month. It is an exciting and social bunch.” What does he credit for Atlanta’s Tower popularity aside form the Conventions? “Huge credit must go to Serenla for being a destination location for so many of our gatherings. She is very much the glue that holds us together.”

Prior to being the man that whips Recruits into shape, Marrow tried his hand at other jobs around TV.Net. “I’ve tried to stay active on the site in one form or another for a long time now. I worked in the Online Events Team as a Junior Member, I served on the Hall in my first eligible term as a Gaidin, and I served as MDD’s Honor Guard every term after that until I was promoted to Captain of Recruits. I actually tried to do both, but the Company shot that down and stripped me of my Forum Editing Powers. Punks.”

Tough Love: Marrow's Guide to CoR-ing

Marrow harnesses his own brand of Tough Love that will produce model Gaidin that Aes Sedai want and male Junior Members want to be. As a result he is helping to spearhead Project Gaidin, a rigorous competition that will bring out the best of the best for Junior Members aspiring to reach their goals as Senior Members. How does Marrow feel about his precious Recruits? “I’d like to think the Recruits are having fun with it all. It s hard to believe I’m already a third of the way into my term, time is just flying on by. I only wish I had more time to pull off even more events for the Recruits (and really, for the Male Junior Members as a whole – It is hard watching all my Recruits scamper off to be Soldiers.)"

As Captain of Recruits, Marrow has accomplished more than what was expected of him. He uses his job as a stepping stone to accomplish more. “Since I took over there’s been the Mistress of Novices kidnapping, Summer Camp, the Free Week (while not officially a Captain of Recruit event, it took a lot of my time and had a ton of Recruit involvement,) and we’re just now kicking off Project Gaidin.” Marrow has also been in panels and worked with current Wheel of Time co-author Brandon Sanderson. “They put me up there to make Brandon look better, of course! Seriously though, it is all a matter of having been in the right place at the right time. I took on a lot of Wheel of Time Track Staff responsibilities (at Dragon*Con) that Muirenn was ready to give up so she could move on to other things, and [that] paved the way for my interactions with Team Jordan.”

MDD? You don't say!

Love them or hate them, many people have an opinion of MDD and that’s what they feed on. How does Marrow feel about his infamous Company? “The thing I love about MDD, no matter what the stereotypes say, is that we’re all very different from each other. I feel I’m a completely different person from everyone else in the Company, and I’d wager that most of them feel the same way – we’re all very individualistic.” Marrow feels the most important factor of his Company is that they're fiercely loyal to each other when it comes to dealing with everyone else. “We’re riding the sugar high of a whole new crop of Blue Bondmates…we’re in the process of rolling out the 2010 MDD Awards. It is a wonderful time to be part of the foxiest company on the site.” Check out the MDD Awards results here.

Marrow in RL

So what kind of person is Marrow? If you have not worked with him or talked with him you should know he is one of the coolest people you will ever meet. Not only is he helpful, but he will go out of his way to make himself accessible if you need anything. “These days I take whatever free time I have and usually use it to socialize. Between maintaining Tower connections, work and school connections, meeting new people, and re-establishing old friendships that I had let wither, seeing people and going off to do events with them is where I like to spend my time.” Marrow is in his final semester, going for his Masters degree in US History, and also works as a digital archivist. When speaking of his relationship with Brandon Sanderson he shares the following story that took place during Sanderson’s book signing tour for The Gathering Storm. “In the middle of signing my book he stopped, got real quiet, asked what I was doing after the signing, and invited me and Eireann out to dinner with him and some of the Storm Leaders. So, he likes me enough to want to break bread with me, which I’ll take as a win.” Let me assure you, I have broken bread with Marrow and that is always a win.

So there you have it. Marrow Gaidin. When you see him, ask him about his dogs.