The Journal of Datai Amberillo

If this journal should be come lost, please return to Datai Amberillo, Bardic

Knight of Gareth Keep.

It is 7 o'clock pm, Day of the Moon, 21st the Month of the Shadows.

Sir Mogul gave me this lovely book to keep my thoughts in. Its a good thing

too, otherwise, I might loose them all together!

He has been away at the wars with the Mauraders too long, and I hope he can

catch up to me with his studies soon. Even today when he, Sir Levin, and I

went about town to chase after malice... hopelessly out numbered, and besieged

by strangling assassins... I felt completly safe knowing he was there.

It is 3 o'clock pm, Day of Freedom, 4th the Month of the Great Evil.

Last night I visited Nordmaar with Hengst, and I finally met his brother Varner.

We got sloshed, killed the guardian of the town _after_ it attacked me for no

good reason.. that I can remeber anyhow, and got a cool spear for the general

of the Lance, sir Leumas, who by the way.. is a great guy. Sir Rhydier has been

terribly melconly lately, and it well.. is distressing. I mean he should be

happy, right?

It is 4 o'clock am, Day of the Great Gods, 12th the Month of the Winter Wolf.

Sir Hengst stole the pirate ship the Wraith today! He now has a shiny little star.

Isn't that romantic? the sea, the ships, dealy pirates... wish I was there...

It is 3 o'clock am, Day of the Bull, 8th the Month of the Frost Giant.

Levin is grand fun to talk to, even for a grumpy old priest. He keeps mistaking

me for a nun. Muse is almost done with her training as a cleric.. again, and I

am curious as to what she will be next. She actully mentioned being a crusader!

I guess maybe she doesn't want to be chaste. If I were her, I would be a druid.

Sir Mogul drowned today, he was so tired for battling. I feel badly for him

altho I know he would rather not have my pity. I wish there was something I

could have done. I hugged him, I don't think he even noticed he was so depressed

hes been trying so hard to catch up to the rest of us. He went strait to bed,

which is good.. he needs his rest.

It is 5 o'clock pm, Day of the Sun, 27th the Month of the Old Forces.

Muse is done with her training, and has been moping around praying and stuff

for ages now. Sir Rheidyr is quiet, but he seems like he is in a better mood.

Ami is here, and is doing well with her training. She's addicted to off white

potions.. I don't understand why they all don't let me haste them.. its much

healthier.

Sir Jyrin is terribly quiet, and his medal isn't shiny.. I wonder if he is sad

about something or other. Muse said I should try drawing in here sometime...

its a neat idea, and I think I will practice if I have a bit... actually I've

been mostly loafing about for awhile now, waithing for Ami and Mogul to catch up

up with their studies.

It is 11 o'clock pm, Day of the Sun, 13th the Month of Nature.

Muse is back to being a mighty palie again. I wonder which god she follows,

seems like Nadrik like everyone else around here but for General Leumas, and

Sir Hengst, who follow Austinian. Sir Jyrin follows him too I think, oh and

the Turpa crusader boy... Okay so not everyone follows Nadrik. Not that I have

anything against the God of Honor, I'm just wondering why he makes palies be

chaste. I mean, love for a lover and love for a god are two different things,

so he shouldn't be envyous or anything. Of course not! he's the God of Honor,

and prolly above such things. Which reminds me, I saw the little angel Milek

today under the sea. I really don't think there is anything 'lesser' about a

lesser angel.

... I wonder if it gives him a complex being refured to as a 'lesser' angel

all the time. He has his wings afterall, what else does and angel need?

It is 6 o'clock am, Day of the Moon, 35th the Month of the Sun.

Everyone is in a hubbub about some note Suh Beryl wrote, whining about the younger

knights. Dunno where he gets off doing that, I haven't seen him for weeks, and

personally I thought he was one of us younger knights.

[47 Human Brd] [ Knighthood ] (WANTED) Datai Amberillo, Knight of the Shield

[26 Human Pal] [ Knighthood ] Aenarion dePayens, Knight of the Crown (AHJ)**

[25 Human Dru] [ Knighthood ] Daenarion The Green Knight Assistant to the High Clerist

[41 Human Cru] [ Knighthood ] Teser Orbu, Squire to Seal.

[26 Human Cru] [ Knighthood ] Trellor Almstead, Knight of the Shield

[27 Human Cle] [ Knighthood ] (WANTED) Zalbag Griswold, Page of the Shield

way to go younger knights!

It is 9 o'clock am, Day of Deception, 23rd the Month of the Spring.

La de da, its spring. Hengst is a palie.. but then I knew that he would be one

all along. Unfourntuatnly now there is no one left to group with it seems. Its

allright tho. The keep is very peaceful, and I'm practicing spelling people up.

I miss Sir Mogul and Eyrk terribly, and hope they return soon from.. wherever.

It is 4 o'clock pm, Day of Freedom, 32nd the Month of the Ancient Darkness.

Sir Garn has gone off all by himself on some sort of holy quest. No one

seems particuarlly worried, but some how.. Just letting him go off like

that.. I don't like it. I think I am gonna go try to find him in a bit,

maybe. I don't really know for sure where to look though. I mean.. Where

do knights on holy quests for Nadrik go to anyhow? Sir Eyrk is here.. It

is comforting to see him, I missed him terribly. Sir Aenarion seems kinda

grumpy about Sir Garn... Whatever.. I think I will go out and just take a

little peek around for him.. Just to make sure he's okay... If I find him.

It is 5 o'clock am, Day of the Bull, 1st the Month of the Dark Shades.

Sir Levin finally got around to completing his training as a mighty palie!

I got to help him, it was terribly exciting. Unfortunly after he had

leveled, Ericka showed up and tornadoed him, and swarmed me with insects.

Hengst told me that Sir Mogul was about today. He was defeated.. Twice...

I wish I was there to help him.

It is 1 o'clock am, Day of the Moon, 7th the Month of the Frost Giant

The keep is empty, everyone has gone to bed, even Sir Hengst who normally

Stays up with me. I truly wish there was someone about now, as I don't

feel the need to go out on my own and train, without someone to talk too.

Everyone thinks I should of course, but they just don't seem to understand

that barding is much more fun, when there is someone to sing about and too.

I'd go to bed with them.. But they are all.. Chaste.. ;P. Oh well, I'll

love him anyhow, he really has no choice in that matter.

It is 12 o'clock pm, Day of the Bull, 29th the Month of the Dragon.

I met my new general last night, Sir Gwaine the assassin, he is terribly

charming He, Lord Rheidyr, and I had a lovely time smacking evil doers

around. Sir Gwaine was very interested in learning about music, and we

stayed up very late talking about music and such.

It is 10 o'clock pm, Day of Freedom, 32nd the Month of the Winter Wolf.

Ghiselin Madur left the keep, and has been trying to stir up trouble.

Ironicly I've never seen Sir Rheidyr happier. Guess most all of us are

happy to see the family of Madur leave. Save for Paleceron, they all seemed

like cruel war mongers to me, and now they war against the keep. Or big

babies.. Its really hard to tell the difference. I've had a lovely time

exploring the lands with Sir Eyrk. We were attacked only once by Garunk the

evil black-robe wizardess, but Sir Eyrk valiantly beat her back into the

night. I was tornadoed... Just as well really, I was getting pretty beat

up, and we were in a gods forsaken place.

It is 6 o'clock pm, Day of the Bull, 29th the Month of the Heat.

Sir Garn has returned! While I'm very happy to see that he is back, and not

much worse for the wear, I must admit, Sir Gwaine was a much more dashing

and romantic general. Speaking of romance, I haven't seen Ami or Hengst

lately. I wonder where they are? Oh.. I did see Hengst briefly, he was

complaining about Sir Leumas becoming a humorless zealot. I have to agree

with Hengst, even since Sir Leumas was visited by angels, he hasn't nearly

been as much fun to hang around or go adventuring with. After our brief

conversation, it appears that Sir Garn is as depressed as ever. Really, if

everyone around here would just take some time out, and love and appreciate

the world around them, they would be alot healthier and happier. Wounds

heal quickly while sitting around talking, and forgetting that you were

wounded.

It is 5 o'clock pm, Day of Freedom, 4th the Month of the Great Evil.

Ami is back, and we have been sitting around the keep catching up on stuff.

She's actually getting slightly better at flirting.. Or.. Atleast she

doesn't manage to completely turn off the young men around here. Sir Leumas

is the Champion of Austinian now. He's been very quiet lately, which is

nice, and hasen't accused me of being a temptress or anything. I'm waiting

in Croyden Tower to see if Sir Eyrk will be visiting the keep today. Last

night we sat up here, talking about all manner of things it'll the sun rose

over the hills in the east.

It is 11 o'clock pm, Day of the Moon, 14th the Month of Futility.

The month of futility is always a bad month. I haven't seen Sir Hengst or

Eyrk all month, and have been board to death around here. Sir Leumas is out

championing Austinian, and learning to ride a dragon. The brass,

Pazimirara. Needless to say, he doesn't need my help at all. Mostly I've

been sitting around hall, spelling up squires. Terribly, horribly dull

work. Sir Rheidyr adopted some young fella, but I haven't had the chance to

meet him yet tho.

It is 2 o'clock pm, Day of the Sun, 6th the Month of the Battle.

Well.. I really frunked everything up reall good now. I told Sir Gwaine

that I was rather found of Sir Eyrk... You know.. Out of fairness..

Because really I can't make any concrete decisions on anyone at this point

of my life. I love all the knights, they are the dearest people in all the

world to me. But, I'm affraid my honesty has only gotten me into trouble

again. Sorta like walking up to an evil dragon and saying "boy, you are one

ugly son of a... And well that never goes over well.

It is 7 o'clock pm, Day of Freedom, 18th the Month of the Dark Shades.

New confuseing policies, Garn left the keep, Muse demoted, Sir Gwaine is head

of the shield. I wish Sir Hengst was here. All this confusing stuff is going

on around me, and I need someone sane to talk to. Sir Eyrk spent last evening

reciting love poems to me in the chapel of Nadrik. It cleared my mind for a

while, but now I'm just left wondering what the hell is going on around me again.

It is 8 o'clock am, Day of the Great Gods, 12th the Month of Winter.

Sir Hengst has returned, its been refreshing talking with him. Many of the

older knights have retired, and speak of open taverns and such. I'll be

sure to visit them lots. I haven't seen Sir Eyrk in ages it seems, and I

know if I'm patient enough he'll come back, I hope, but waiting for him when

he goes away on these long journies is so, dull.

It is 8 o'clock pm, Day of Deception, 2nd the Month of the Shadows.

Sir Kuldan has opened up a new tavern in Althania, no one has taken me yet

so I may have to slip out later and check it out. Little Ian of Malice

found two gold chest plates, and so we traded for some gold and cookies.

Poor little guy living in that horrible place. Sir Aenarion has been rather

reflective lately, I think its because his son is getting married. I still

can't believe he's marring Alurae. She such.. Well.. Not a nice person

most of the time. Sir Aenarion's mentors were Musashi, Ihsan, Kuldan,

Lancelot, Garyn, and Seal, he knew lots of interesting people.

It is 4 o'clock am, Day of Freedom, 25th the Month of the Grand Struggle.

The world seems to have been turned upside down with some new form of

physics. Sirs Hengst and Eyrk both have been slain lately, and Sir Riedyr

was undergoing penance for something or other. I'll just try not to be as

distracting. Sir Trellor, Captain of the Lance and I did go to that new

bar, he really loosened up after taking in some 'demon bile'. I think he's

rather sweet. I was thinking of making this new espically strong page my

squire. His name is Daedrin, I hope I find him before someone else does, he

looks like he could be _espically_ handy to have around. Sir Gwaine and

Dame Muse seem to be spending a lot of time together, needless to say, its

nice not to worry about breaking his heart anymore.

It is 4 o'clock am, Day of Deception, 16th the Month of Futility.

Am keeping the Keep safe today with the dePaynes. They are looking to build

a town house somewhere, and have been slowly getting better at thier skills so

they may adventure with me.

It is 10 o'clock pm, Day of the Sun, 13th the Month of the Old Forces.

Suh Gwaine and Dame Muse were secretly married off somewhere. Neither have sent

a message to the keep, I was fairly depressed that I couldn't get his ring to him,

but I'm sure Dame Muse is much better off with one from a proffesional jeweler.

At anyrate, I went to the bouncing bugbear, and met Mariana there, she didn't

seem so bad after a few drinks. I also met Seifer of Malice there, apprently

Sir Hengst has talked with him before, it seems he's rather nice some of the

time when he's not trying to kill you. Sir Kuldan told me the tale of Sir

Lancelot. He even had his guantalant.

It is 7 o'clock am, Day of the Sun, 13th the Month of the Dark Shades.

I keep on trying to convert Seifer. But nothing I seem to say sticks. Saharvana

is a better bard than I too. And has convinced him that Neucrucifier will

help him. I wish I could help, he seems terrribly sweet.

It is 5 o'clock pm, Day of the Great Gods, 5th the Month of the Grand Struggle.

Seifer seems to have completely forgotten everything good about himself. His

nice, sweet little spirit seems lost forever on this relm. he did write me a

love letter before he completly gave up. I can't help but think if I had chosen

him over Sir Eyrk that he may have stayed good, but I could never do that,

espically since he only seemed to love me, and not all the world yet. I hope

its not all my fault he's evil now, and I hope that it really is better to love

and to loose, than never to love at all. <tucks love letter in here>

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[256] Seifer: My Love for Datai

Fri May 7 20:31:03 1999

To: knighthood datai all

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am no longer human, I had though I had feelings and I still have part

of my soul. I still control part of my heart. I kill to quench my rage,

this thirst Mencius has cursed me with. For those of you whom known me know

that I do not do harm to your corpses. As I am within the realms for longer

amounts of time, I am slowly enjoying kills more often. The surge in my

heart, the power it gives me. What little goodness I have in me seems

fleeting. As Saravahana said, my transformation will continue. There will

be a day that my soul and heart will be entirely consumed by evil. I have

tried to destroy myself, to no avail.

I feel this time approaching me, I have asked for the guidance of the goods

of light and been ignored. As I sit here in my castle, sad of what is to

become there is one thing that I know. Even as the abomination Mencius has

made me, I did love. I was confused at first to whether it was or not, but

now I know. I loved the one whom calls herself Datai. I thought perhaps it

was a crush, her impish smile and beautiful voice just a charming lure. I

was wrong though. When I see my family or allies doing her harm, it hurts

me. I do not enjoy seeing her harmed. When I hear her voice, my thirst for

rage is gone. When I am with her, my thoughts of killing escape my heart.

I only dreamed that I could be human, that I had not died. It is only an

image of me being as I was, embracing her in my eyes. And as time passes,

this image of happiness and love distances further and further away.

I know that most dreams never come true. This one is far fetched. But as

this image disappears, I want to write that I did love Datai.. And

therefore I have loved. When one day my transformation has consumed me, and

the Seifer you know inside no longer exists... Remember that I too once had

desires, emotions.. And I too once loved.

Seifer, the cursed Abomination of Mencius. Angel of Vengeance.

Whom loved lady Datai

Page 13

this page is unlucky, thus I am skipping it.

It is 7 o'clock pm, Day of Freedom, 11th the Month of the Sun.

one of my lost parchments found its way to Sir Eyrk, and he wrote me a lovely

letter pondering after it. I have missed his cool mind and wisdom and wish

his quests outside the keep would end soon. Seifer has sought to kill me on

a number of occasions now, and seems completely turned to evil, proudly taunting

me from out doors. I dare not venture out near him, he is far to strong to

battle, and if he doesn't kill me, the dwarves and the rest of Malice will.

I wonder if I should see if any buff young men of the realm want to be my

champion, as it's rather dull sitting indoors all day, and I have a number of

chores I need done outside. Oh well, perhaps Sir Eyrk will assist me when he

gets back. <tucks in letter here>

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[294] Eyrk: a parchment

Tue May 11 02:20:31 1999

To: Datai

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

M'lady Datai,

I have recently recieved a parchment from thee, excited to hear the words from thy heart,

I was saddened to see it blank. I miss thee greatly, my heart yearns for thee.

I can give only my sincerest apologies for mine lack of presence of late. It seems mine

quests beyond the walls of Gareth seem unending. Yet I do promise thee that I shall return

with the utmost haste, to hold thee in mine arms again, and hear thy wondrous voice.

It is 11 o'clock am, Day of the Bull, 15th the Month of the Old Forces.

Sir Eyrk has been gone for a long time now, and so with Sir Daenarion. Both

Sir Aenarion and I are kind of sad about this, other, louder people in the keep

who are all related to eachother have been all permoted and pretty much ignore

us, and Sir Levin, so its nice to talk to all of them. Nothing like being

ignored to make you group around other ignored people, and realize that they

are really the nicest ones out there. On a happy note, Varner finally passed

his tests, and has joined us in the keep. Will keep my eye out for he and

Sir Hengst, they _never_ ignore me, and we have grand adventures together!

It is 10 o'clock pm, Day of Thunder, 17th the Month of the Long Shadows

It seems offical now, Sir Eyrk is gone. Sir Rhiedyr made Sir Aenarion the

High Justice today, and Sir Jhervais is now the weaponsmaster. I can't belive

he's gone. First Mogul, now Eyrk, and Sir Gwaine didn't exactly wait for me

as promised. I think I'm gonna die an old nun-like maid. Dame Muse and Gwaine

have a child now.. and I can't even get a knight to stay alive long enough to

have a romantic moment under a tree.

It is 5:30 am, Day of the Bull, 22nd the Month of the Sun.

its been so long, and so much has happened. Eyrk has returned, but he has become

distant. He nears finishing his training, I can only hope that some of his

lust of life will be returned when he masters his arts.. and maybe his love and

desire for me.

Alistain and many other knights have renegaded and turned to darkness, Alistain

becomeing an even more terrible anti-palidain than Ihsan ever was. This event

triggered Sir Rheidyr's fury, he has stepped down from his leadership, and givin

it to Sir Leumas. Jhervais now heads the Lance, and I worry on Sir Rheidyr, he

seems absent now, hunting the anti-palidains.

They made me a lute-attendant of the shield, I feel rather odd recruting, and

my scattered ways don't really make me an ideal orginized officer, but I try.

It is 10:00 o'clock pm, Day of Deception, 9th the Month of the Sun.

Alistain and the other knights who renegaded from us and turned to darkness have

now taken the keep of the Eclipse. They started their own Pureist movement,

allowing only humans who follow Necrunchifer into their dark Order. I only wish

evil humans were the only _true_ evil of the land, that would make my job alot

easier.

The dark elves, dwarves, and yinn of Eclipse have mostly fled to Malice, who's

ranks now fill like a storm sewer after the rain.

It is 1:30 am, Day of the Bull, 22nd the Month of Nature.

The pesky purist humans finally have formed their own evil aliance and call

themselves the Shadow. They have assembled the resorces and have their own hall

and support flunkies. Sir Jhervais now leads the Crown, he's very kind to me

(when his girl-friend isn't about) however, somehow he lacks the over-all pure

goodness and wisdom of Sir Leumas. Somehow someone must have screwed up the

records with the ranks, as I was permoted to Captain of the Shield.

Sir Eyrk has completed his training, and Sir Hengst seems to have vanished. Ami

has returned from her home however, and is working hard at being pious or whatever.

Sir Gwaine is lost, and presumed dead by his family, as well as Sir Mathise's

wife, Rena. Dame Muse has not taken this well at all.

It is 3:00 o'clock am, Day of the Moon, 35th the Month of Futility.

Sir Jhervais and Dame Claerylla are married. Since its the month of Futility,

I know its there just to stand in my face and say "hey, Datai, you are _never_

going to get that one speical guy to ask you to marry him... its >futile<. and

thus I'll try to survive this month. ;P

>>>>REMINDER<<<<<<

Creed and motto recited to become a squire, and recite the oath when yer knighted.

Squires must write their essay on the creed.

Motto: Nobilis Factum. Mors ante dedocoro. (Noble Deeds. Death before dishonor.)

Creed:

The Knight is sworn to valor

His heart knows only virtue

His blade defends the helpless

His might upholds the weak

His words speak only truth

His wrath undoes the wicked.

Oath:

"Oh Nadrik, Lord of Honor, as I ride forth to battle the darkness under your

banner, I do swear to fight with courage and valor, to carry myself with

honor and dignity, to show humility and compassion to others, to be true to

my word and to you. I shall give myself unto the light, and bring those who

would do wrong to justice. I shall hold true to the code of chivalry in all

my actions. This I do swear to uphold and covet from now until the end of

my days."

(replace Nadrik, Lord of Honor with approprate god/ess)

It is 8:30 am, Day of the Bull, 8th the Month of the Great Evil.

I'm the assistant to the high clerist now, which is good, Ami has be away battling

evil things on her family holdings, and needs someone back here to do the filing.

In other clerical related news, Sir Leumas has been retraining himself as a cleric.

He seems a bit more relaxed, altho more holy roling than ever I suspect.

It is 5:00 o'clock am, Day of Deception, 23rd the Month of Nature.

Sir Aenarion has returned from being a renagade! It is nice to have him back.

Lately Sir Paleceron managed to bad mouth Nadrik's holy goodness to his face.

This got him a shun, which upset Dame Muse, who is afterall, very easily upsetable.

This caused her to run from the keep, and then Sir Mathise, who loves his sister

in law (a bit much I say) went runing after her. They managed to confuse Aedon

for a bit from all their melodramatic anticts, but I set him strait and reminded

the boy he was here to be a grand-fairy-tale-holy knight, and had to be strong

and not fret about Muse and Mathise. They will come to their senses... or atleast

become normal for them again. Its too bad Aedon never got to meet his father,

Sir Gwaine... altho Sir Gwaine was abit too rough around the edges to be an

ideal knightly figure, he was atleast steady, and wouldn't get all weird like

the rest of that family does.

It is 7:30 pm, Day of Deception, 16th the Month of the Shadows.

Note: When throwing someone into the lake to see if they are really AFK (Avaliable

For Kissing), if they are not AFK they will swim to the top. If they are AFK

they will drown. Therefore, either way they don't get kissed. An altarnate means

of testing must be found so that those who are AFK can live to enjoy the privlage.

It is 11:30 am, Day of the Great Gods, 26th the Month of the Ancient Darkness.

I'm worried about the state of the keep. Sir Paleceron, Dame Muse, and Sir

Mathise all have been fanatical about finding vampires in the Knighthood and

killing them. They seem to fuel each other, the terror mounting everyday. I

just do my best to change the subject, I don't even dare try to convince

them that some vampires aren't evil, and if a vampire is in the knighthood,

he wouldn't be evil of course; he'd be a knight. In all this my fear grows

for my love, Sir Eyrk, it's through him I know that vampires can be good if

they want to. Just all the ones in Malice really have no desire to be good.

Fortunately, I can say with truth and assurance that he's not a vampire.

Why he can even shower in holy water, and looks good while doing it.

It is 9:00 o'clock pm, Day of Freedom, 25th the Month of the Dragon.

Dame Muse has left the keep again, infuriated by the fact we won't declare war

on shalonesti clan just because of one evil vampire in their midst. Sir Paleceron

seems to be purposely doing any and everything to get himself renegaded. He's

been exiled, and his behavior has just been horrid. Sir Mathise is also

in exiled, speaking out against us all, and out 'folly' and writing long

notes that are terribly dull, and cause nothing but internal strife. With the

vampire debate, my dearest Sir Eyrk has vanished. Woe unto Dame Muse or any

of her camp should I find they be responsible for his absence.

I also worry after Sir Aedon, Muse and Gwaine's son, who is now the High Clerist.

He's a very kind hearted and reasonable boy, but he seems caught inbetween family

loyalties, Keep policy, and of course.. trying to do what's right.

It is 7:30 pm, Day of Deception, 2nd the Month of Winter.

Things are quiet in the keep. Its nice, but I wish sir Hengst or Ami were

here to enjoy it with me. Mathise chose to become a renegade, and he and Muse

seem to have quieted down. A funny message came from the silver dragon Wyerth

the other day, he declared he was annoyed with those who hunted the elves,

including the angel Lucent. He annoucned that wrongly hunted elves would be

hunted and eaten by himself. He also made the offhand remark inquiring why

they hunt the vampires in shalonesti, and not the blood-drinking softlings

he's seen in Valor. Needless to say, I haven't heard much talk about 'evil'

vampires lately. No one seems to want to touch on this Valor subject.

It is 1:00 o'clock am, Day of Thunder, 31st the Month of the Old Forces.

I'm working on a poem for the love poetry contest. Here it is, I think...

On Our Love - Datai Amberillo

Sparkling of candlelight burning

flashes that dance on edges of birds' wing

Soaring lightly on sweet winds

breaths that moisten parched tree limbs

Sprinkling rains of hearts singing

joy that grows in the roots of willows weeping

Soothing strength of stone within

mountains that crest where clouds spin

Stories of love untold inside us unfolding

burning in candlelight sparkling.

It is 3:30 pm, Day of Deception, 23rd the Month of the Shadows.

Last night would have almost had the makings of a perfect eve. However it

all went horribly wrong. New Thalos was having a bachelor and bachelorette

auction as a fund raiser, and Sir Adeon and I went to be auctioned off.

Everything was perfect, till a vampire showed up. An evil one, he claimed

he only wanted peace and to enjoy the party, but everything he did and said

was geared twoards mildly annoying the guests, frightining them, and just

plain "hey, I'm an evil vampire, wanna start somethin?"

So Sir Aedon and I started something after he drank old Sir Garn's blood.

Sir Garn gave him permission, but so far as I know, he could have been under

a trance or something.

We didn't kill it, and Sir Aedon exiled and left the party to his family

home in a huff. I didn't want to leave, even if the vampire was still

lurking, as I wanted to benifit New Thalos. Fourtunately Sir Trellor arrived

to escort me for the rest of the evening. A more kind and understanding

Lance General I don't think has ever existed.

Sir Garn bought me for 3 whole eggs so I'd file his paperwork for him. I

don't think I've ever had 3 whole eggs in my whole life, am glad I was able

to make that much for New Thalos.

It is 2:30 am, Day of the Moon, 14th the Month of the Spring.

Just when you think everythings almost found a new set path of normalicy, it

gets all weird again. Dame Muse is dead, I haven't had the courage to ask

Sir Aedon how yet. Not long ago, however, someone said Sir Gwaine was spotted

around the keep. It is said he looked well, but was quiet, and left as

mysteriously as he came. Sir Eyrk also returned from his battles away. It was

wonderful to see him again.

Sir Trellor has stepped down from being the Lance General. He's always been

such a sweet and gentle man, it was odd seeing him head the lance, but he

always did his job perfectlike. He'd smite evil, then come home and smile

and help the rest of us. Sir Aedon is the new general of the Lance, he's

been quiet and in morning for his mother lately. He promised me that being

a lance knight wouldn't make him explode like it did Sir Paleceron.

Everyone is all wound up and nervous for clan wars. Sir Jhervais is

confident that we will win our opener with Shadow, but I'm not so convinced

yet. It, sadly, should be a pretty even match in the lower levels.

It is 1:00 o'clock pm, Day of the Sun, 13th the Month of the Battle.

Sir Eyrk, my one and only love, has contracted a madness. He seems possesed

by demons and attacked, killed and looted many knights before Sir Aedon

could drive him from the Keep. He has vanished and none have heard from

him. His heart and mind in complete turmoil. I have a number of the

weapons that we took from him so he wouldn't hurt himself, they are

beautiful, but I wish I had him with me instead.

It is 3:30 pm, Day of Deception, 23rd the Month of the Heat.

Sir Aedon has moved to become the shield genneral, just like the other members

of his family. He's had many many arguments with Sir Jhervias about everything.

The weird thing is that I can't fathom what on earth they could possibly find

to argue about! Life in the keep has never been better I say. Though Sir Jhervais

can be hot-tempered and say things without thinking, what knight around here

isn't like that?

My beloved Eyrk has returned to sanity, weakened from his exertations and

journies. His weapons are back in his able hands, and so brifly was I before

he had to return on his endless quests and hunts for vampires.

It is 9:00 o'clock pm, Day of Thunder, 31st the Month of the Long Shadows.

Many of the younger knights and expcially the squires and pages have been real

mouthy and lacking disipline of late. It appears to be mostly a case of one or

two.. with the fancy last names of Breingiton and dePaynes thinking they can get

away with it, and then setting a bad example for the rest of 'em. Sir Jhervais

will deal with them a bit, reckon its the kids from the good families who should

be the best behaved!

Because there has been some confusions regarding recrutment requirments, I'm going

to write them down here so I don't forget:

[227] Jhervais: Knighthood recruiting requirements.

Thu Jul 13 19:24:37 2000

To: Knighthood

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A: A tale of the past, what motivates the recruit to join and brings them

to Gareth, directed to the proper place (storyn).

B: Possession of all basic necessary skills for their present form of

training as determined by the Generals (note to follow), unless special

exception is given by a Colonel or higher.

C: At least five (5) circles of training completed as a loner, more if felt

necessary following the 5th (assuming the recruit is still green to the

world).

D: Passing of a verbal interview with a recruiter, in which the recruit is

tested in the areas of virtue, combat tactics (basic), and knowledge of

Algoron and its history. Knowledge of the Generals of Gareth and the

location of the Keep are mandatory.

If these are all completed and no strong reason has been given for them to

not enter the Keep (such will be posted to the recruiters, be it one who is

denied entrance or forbidden until something is complete), said person is

elligible to become a page.

New entrants should be directed to the note from Endrin or Kusanami that

contains the clan policies of war, and to the Code of Conduct in the War

Room that details the actions required of their new rank.

[228] Jhervais: Basic skill requirements for paths of training

Thu Jul 13 19:37:14 2000

To: Knighthood

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Warriors should possess knowledge of forms of weaponry, knowledge of most

combat actions (bashing, 2nd, 3rd attacks, enhancing damage, dodging,

parrying, blocking with shields, disarming and blinding with dirt, and the

like) and understand basic important magic (transportation, protection).

Clerics should know most all prayers their god grants, such as benedictions,

maladictions, attack, healing, curative, transportation, detection and

weather magic, as well as how to defend themselves (dodging, parrying and

blocking with shields) and at least 2 weapons (mace and another).

Practioners of magic should know all basic schools of magic (detection,

combat, enhancement, transportation, beguiling, weather, etc) as well as how

to defend themselves (dodge, parry, blocking with a shield) as well as the

art of spellcraft.

Those who are training as scouts and students of stealth ought to know those

basic combat skills available to them, how to defend themselves (see above),

as well as basic magic (transport, protective) and how to move silently and

remain concealed.

Those who practice the art of singing ought to know dodging and parrying

their songs and basic magic, and other basic skills of their manner of

combat, such as roundhousing.

It is 11:00 o'clock am, Day of Thunder, 31st the Month of the Shadows.

Many of the knights seem missing, or maybe the one that has gone missing has

left a rather large void. Namely, Sir Jhervias. Both genneral Aedon and

Aenariaon have been around lately, and fortuantly haven't done anything foolish

and hot headed as they both often do on their own. No one seems to have mentioned

where the Lord Crown is or anything. I supose we are all hoping he will come

back instead of us having to figure out who will be the next leader. I like both

the Lance and Shield Generals, but frankly, I don't really know how either would

do as the Lord Crown. I supose I'd rather Sir Aenarion, but he's getting old, and

doesn't even much want to be the Lance General anymore.

It is 3:30 am, Day of the Sun, 20th the Month of the Spring.

With still no sign of Sir Jhervias: Sir Aenarion, Leumas, and Aedon got together

and made Sir Aedon the new Lord of the Crown. He seems so young, I hope he

does okay at the job. Sir Leumas is now the Shield Genneral, he hasn't changed

much, still runs around leading the charge, smiting evil.

It is 7:30 am, Day of the Sun, 20th the Month of the Grand Struggle.

Sir Jhervias has returned, and is taking being despoted alot better than I

thought he might. He's still always the sort of man who likes to be in charge

though, and wants his job back after he takes a month vacation. So far he's

proven himself very bad at relaxing, and just has spent the entire time so

far wondering what he has done wrong, and worrying about Sir Aedon's leadership

ablities.

Page 26

So I don't forget, the requirements for becoming a knight:

1 egg donation, and 1 kill, and an essay on the creed.

For shield:

2 pquest items, know where all the clan halls are, and random questy trips.

It is 12:00 o'clock am, Day of Thunder, 10th the Month of the Ancient Darkness.

Sir Jhervias returned from his vacation, and its a good thing too, because we were all

worried (and some hoping I'm sure) he was dead! His wife joined the white tower while

he was gone, and a number of the squires, knights, and officers have been acting

improper and roudy. Sir Aedon is a quite moody sort, and isn't much on disciplining.

He probably spends too much time up in Croyden tower with his fiance. Not that

I can blame him too much.

Another member of the keep has returned from adventures elsewhere. A most curious

(and good looking) older squire showed up today. He goes by Eirsondal the Good (which

seems a tad overboard, really!). He used to be sponsored by Sir Eugene, who's long since

retired! He has decided to do some retraining, and gave me a most curious artifact to

hold onto for him till he gets back. Its the hilt of an ancient ornate sword. The symbols

of the Shield, Crown and Lance are engraved on it, and the base of the blade before it is

broken off reads the letters "Tes". Its been in his family awhile he said.

It is 9:30 am, Day of Thunder, 24th the Month of Nature.

Last eve was a horrible mess if there ever was one. A woodsman came to the

keep begging for help against some evil Draconians that slaughtered some

families and burned down some huts. Naturally sir Leumas led us in, and

ordered us to kill them all when they didn't come peaceably, and started

eating the corpses. Finally one of them yielded, and we took it back to the

keep for questioning. Sir Suradis, and Sir Aenearion questioned the

dracoinian, and the woodsman, and after some debate and arguing over

evidence, it became apparent that the woodsman had killed the people! Sir

Suradis and Sir Leumas thinks its okay that we killed all the innocent

draconians, because they were evil, and didn't yield. I don't know if I

feel the same though. Seems to me that evil people just become eviler when

you don't treat them with respect and caring. When you do treat them with

respect and caring, they realize that they like it, and often will work to

redeem themselves. A corpse can't redeem itself.

At anyrate, I think we got our man, but it was all terribly confusing.

It is 9:30 am, Day of the Sun, 34th the Month of the Dark Shades.

Lute-attendent Frazen Bruce returned to Nordmaar. Will miss him lots, he's

truely one of the finest palies and shield knights we've ever had.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ 18] Frazen: You 5.

Thu Sep 7 17:02:08 2000

To: Endrin Suradis Datai Evony Evora

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You 5 we're my closest friends during my stay here in the keep, and I

hope to see all of you again, please visit me in Nordmaar sometime for I

will miss you all most. I shared good times with you all, and I hope to

still share many more.

Sincerely, Frazen Bruce. Lieutenant of the Shield

It is 1:30 am, Day of Thunder, 24th the Month of the Old Forces.

I ran into the most marvouls thing today when in ancient thalos selling

things. There, back in time, was Gareth Keep! It was much bigger, and

there is a dungeon with a death knight in it. It must have been sealed off.

It was interesting looking at all the dodads an stuffs, and talking to the

fairy tale knights. Lord Croyden was there up in his tower. Lord Aenaraon

and I dueled him, but he bested us easily. Truely as powerful as ledgens

say!

It is 12:30 am, Day of Freedom, 25th the Month of the Grand Struggle.

Today Deacon Llwellyn of the Austinians had a prayer meeting for Siccara.

Not many really showed up, just another Austinian, Galvarous, and Me. I sang

my hymn there: The Unicorn

Spirals of warmth ascending in song

borne on graceful hoofbeats

hearts pattering and growing strong

the graceful horn melody joyfully bleats

calling wisdom to my side

with soft and warm snow white

wash away painful tears cried

Spiraling songs to warm all right.

It is 5:30 pm, Day of Freedom, 25th the Month of the Battle.

Many of the knights are loosing their tempers and not being wise and thoughful.

I'm sure its because there is no high clerist to guide them. None of the Shield

Knights seem espically wise. Sir Varner, Hengst's younger brother, is training

for paladinship however, and also has been transfered to the shield. I think he will

be a fine addition, and even thought he's away at Pferdhiem alot, when he is here

he's terribly wise. Lore Aedon made him write a paper on humility, it was quite nice,

so I'm going to tuck it in here in case anyone needs humbled in the future.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[121] Varner: Humility in practice

Thu Oct 19 02:42:48 2000

To: Knighthood

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wish to convey some wisdom to the keep and I pray that it will be

received with open eyes and open minds.

We all have our own reasons for which we have joined together in brotherhood

to become noble champions and guardians of good. In our quest for

knighthood, we have, or will have, embraced the virtues of chivalry. It

often takes months if not years to find it within our hearts and many more

afterwards to keep it.

Of the virtues of chivalry, pride is the one that has been said to be at

fault for us mortals to act nobly. One can argue that pride strengthens

one's character; that it can help raise the standard and encourage one to

evolve. This I do not debate. I do wish to convey to you that pride is

indeed a double-edged sword. I have seen it benefit some members greatly in

their pursuits, and I have seen it impede others. We must be vigilant and

not allow our pride to develop into vanity or for us to become self-centered

because of it.

Some of you know that humility is quite an effective defense against

encroaching vanity and the like. What you may not know is how fragile

humility is. I recall a story I was told in my youth. There was once a

parishioner who received recognition for being the humblest man in the

church. He was given a special pin to wear. The following congregation he

wore it and they took it away from him for being proud. As soon as we think

we are humble, we are not.

Thus, I present the keep with suggestions on how to practice humility; to

keep pride in check while still reaping its benefits.

Routinely confess your sins to your god. We are mortal and all of us sin.

Too few of us have a routine practice of rigorous self-honesty examination.

Be it weekly or even daily, review your heart and behavior in conjunction

with your confession. The next step is to acknowledge your sin to others

for humility before the gods is not complete unless there is also humility

before man. A true test of our willingness to humble ourselves is being

willing to share with others the weaknesses we confess to our god. Wisdom

dictates that we should do so with others that we trust.

Take wrong patiently. Patiently responding to the unjust accusations and

actions of others demonstrates the strength of one's character and provides

an opportunity to put on humility.

Receive criticisms and feedback from others graciously. Look for the kernel

of truth in what people offer you, even if it comes from a dubious source.

Do not be unwilling to forgive. Forgiveness is possibly one of the greatest

acts of humility we can do. To forgive is to acknowledge a wrong that has

been done us and also to further release our right of repayment for the

wrong. Forgiveness is denial of self.

If you do choose to humble yourself, bear in mind it must be approached with

sincerity. Anything less would be an injustice to yourself and will only

promote the vanity you seek to vanquish.

Signed, Varner PferdRitter

It is 5:30 pm, Day of Thunder, 24th the Month of Nature.

I sat down and wrote a letter of recomendation for Sir Varner and Dame Evora

to Lords Aedon and Leumas. I was rather timid about the whole venture, I've

never been in the position to recomend anything other than what color

flowers and bridesmaids dresses should be. It dawned on me, however, that

I'm the Captain of the Shield, and I remember being bossed around and rules

being made by Shield Captains when I was a normal knight. I hope they take

my advice and make Varner the High Clerist, and Evora his assistant. They

would be great at the jobs. I'm afraid that General Leumas doesn't think me

as any better than a foul temptress... And I'm worried that maybe he'll

think badly of them because I recomended them. If nothing else, I know

something good when I see it.. Damnit! I know Lord Aedon would take the

advice, of course, I've always givin him advice since he was a little boy.

He and Laomen were like the kids I never had. I supose it's good that I

didn't get to marry a handsome knight and have a bunch of children, after

all horrible things seem to happen to the dames that are mothers of good

knights. If I was gone, who would have taken care of all my kids and Laomen

and Aedon?!

It is 3:00 o'clock am, Day of the Moon, 28th the Month of Winter.

Horray, not only is Sir Varner the new High Clerist, and Dame Evora the High

Priestess, but they also are in mighty palie training. Varner is now

spending gloriously long and boring hours inside the practice room beating

up elementals. Its not so bad, because he composes sermons in his head at

the same time. I'm terribly glad the Shield Knights are turning out so

well. For a while I really had to work hard for us to get us all in line.

It is 6:00 o'clock am, Day of the Great Gods, 26th the Month of the Dark Shades.

Of all the hearts and stars in the sky, I'm so happy, Sir Eyrk is alive and well

and back. He now sits in the temple of Nadrik, where we often did before, and

we share our thoughts and loves and its wonderful. Unfortunatly, I never can have

just good news around here it seems. Dame Caelana, paladin and friend

of mine has died in battle against a horde of pirates and dark knights. She

will be sorely missed, and I wrote this song for her:

Glowing warmth of keep hearths

close and blood red center

Filling veins in wings of larks

flight to dispel Love's winter

In cold steel and hot battle

burning strength from holy blade

Slicing darkness which quiver and rattle

cadences through funeral glade

Filled with hope of sunlit hearts

warm and safe at keep hearths.

It is 7:00 o'clock pm, Day of the Great Gods, 26th the Month of the Spring.

I've come back to the keep for a visit. Lots of new faces there, but

Sir Aenarion is there still, he's getting pretty old, and is the Lord

Knight now. I bet he's pretty tired and could use a break like mine on

Tropica. I met Garamond, who's a paladin now instead of a mage like I

remember him. I also met Amargin, a shield palidin who looks like he

might be officer material, iffin the officers let him of course be a

Lute-attendent. I gave him the offical lute to protect, just to make sure

they get the hint! I might be leaving to go look for the ledgendary homeland

of Sir Hengst and Varner, PferdHeim. Sir Amargein says they are having

problems maybe up there. Someone needs to protect all those handsome blue

eyed blond haired men!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Datai: Of all the swirling colors, the ones in holy beer remind me best of you ;>

Mon Mar 22 20:05:14 1999

To: all

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pin points of morning light come drifting in in a rich, bright, holy sort of halo. Basking the world in a gilded light, the brilliance and peace of the cool night air slowly being warmed by the dawn can turn the most evil souls to a mush of warmth and love. As this song of light and warmth passes over my resting body, I cannot help but to open my eyes to behold the world in its splendor of early morning erthreal luminicese.

Light burns my sleep sand crusted eyes and sears the front of my brain, making it bubble and fry like an egg on a New Thalos road, and a gong seems to fall on my head as I try to sit up.

Closing my eyes, rolling over and going back to sleep would have been the wisest course of action at this point. However, making wise decisions has never been a particular strong point.. I mean I can't even make simple ones.

Its really hard to say when the really unwise decisions started happening on a regular basis. I think that my bad luck started with leaving the circus. Yeah.. to be a Flying Amberillo again.. instead of some bardic dame who is passed out on a ...church pew?

Attempting to recall the events of the past evening is always a painful, yet important, part of the morning. It seems there is often some sort of a connection with these missing hours and the current state of disarray which I find myself in every morning.

As the holy light fades from my beer mug, I vaguely recall being electrocuted by a giant blue lizard, and Lord Rheidyr muttering about trying to find some swirling colors and a paint brush.

No wonder I partook in the holy beer last night.

Its not that I'm not supportive of Sir Rheidyr getting in touch with his artistic side, or him looking for swirling colors, holy signs, and other weird auras and stuff associated with faithful prophets, priests, and paladins. But I really wish he wouldn't include me in on all these holy quests and rituals.

Mainly the whole chastity ritual for starters.

In fact, I'm fairly certain that it's his chasteness that has probably gotten me into this entire mess of holy beer, swirling colors, paint brushes, and that little note laying by me.

Yup, my worst fears confirmed, a note, penned by Sir Gwaine no less. It's content the sort that reeks of a longing of the romantic that is to awkward to express itself in words. The sort of advance that until about two weeks ago, would have been welcomed with the proper enthusiasm of a maiden in big, stupid, blind love.

However, as of late, I discovered I had some personal issues that needed resolved, as well as sorting out what feelings for which assorted knights, Austinians, and a White robe can be categorized as love or lust.

My personal issues? Personal.

My feelings for the various young men of the realm? Most likely lust, aside from a few notable exceptions.

Hence leading to the personal issues.

However, shurely, this entire mess, agleam with golden morning light, can be blamed on Sir Rheidyr's chastness. Certainly, had it not been for that strange lifestyle choice I would be waking up in the arms of one of the most handsome, heroic, and good, old fashioned darn sexy knights of the keep. Not on a hard pew, with a herd of war elephants dancing on my head, and a note from another, very charming and absolutely wonderful, knight questing to form some sort of solid relationship in a world of insubstantial swirling colors.

Now, if you think that knights are obstinate, stubborn, and single minded on the battlefield, you've never seen one in love. I; however, have been on the receiving end of a number of this noble breed's affections, and let me tell you: Malice has it much easier.

Its not as though I was leading them on with some sort of playful, sinful purpose in mind. It's just impossible to subtly shrug them off so that no harm is done. They just run, head on, charging directly at what they believe with rightfully theirs. Subtle and polite turndowns glancing helplessly off of shining armor and shields, unheeded and forgotten; trampled underfoot. Unfortunately the only way to stop such a crusader with the Goddess of Love whispering in his ear is to erect a wall right in his path that not even the worse rider can miss.

Thus, our brave and noble hero charges, stupidly, head long into a wall..

.. and then gets up, quite hurt, terribly confused, and trying to go on so no one else will notice that he, the brave and noble knight that he is, just stupidly charged himself into a wall.

Enter Sir Gwaine, due for some friendly teasing for a recent encounter some adorable highlander gals, his blue eyes clear, sparking and dancing with the joy that comes with the anticipation of being with someone you care for more than the normally healthy dose of caring. Unfortunately I'm stupidly grinning right back at him, for in this bizarre, confusing would of swirling colors, here is absolutely nothing as wonderful as being loved.

Except maybe a nice MLT...

Tactics of the military sort are not a strong point of mine either. Hindsight being ever so wise, it was probably a bad tactical decision to wander up Croyden Tower with Sir Gwaine. I mean, I can't think of a good place to let a knight down, but on the top of a tower, generally renown as a blissful point to make out at, is probably one of the more depressing places to be handed a major defeat in the crusade of romance.

At any rate, I knew I was cleverly cornered when he asked, what must be a standard question when a knight gets a gal to the top of this tower and is preparing to get her to join him in his crusade for the goddess of Love, if I had "ever been up here before?"

Of course I have! With a half dozen other hopeful young knights turned crusaders of Love who all end up falling victim to my walls of poor, last minute, panicked, decision making, and asking the same dang question. Except for Sir Eyrk, somehow I had had the presence of mind to check his teeth for vampire fangs while we were up here about two weeks ago.

With my tongue.

Hence leading to the personal issues.

And now leading me to form the most painful wall I had ever bothered constructing in my life, built of the two most absolutely terrifying phrases I could think of at the moment. All this for one of the most charming, clever, and delightful men, who had he but mentioned _something_ about a relationship but two weeks ago, would have had his teeth checked for vampire fangs, instead of being crushed by a wall of the most ineloquent let down I have ever uttered:

"Eyrk cares for Datai; Datai cares for Eyrk"

Come to think of it, Datai has also been known for poor decisions, and not having a clue as to what's really going on. And for running like all hell when there is a crusader charging at her, be he Eclipsian or Love Goddess blinded.

Its truly sad how love can stupify one into babbling simple sentences that don't even begin to express anything like what is going on in your mind. Not that anything coherent was going on in my mind at that particular moment, mind you. I just don't think my general state of confusion regarding my feelings for the High Justice were done justice by those two, very decisive sounding phases. Heck, come to think of it, I don't even really recall Sir Eyrk actually making any sort of verbal admission that her cared for me or that he wished to presue any sort of serious relatonship. It's a pretty sure bet though, that if a Paladin of Nadrik consents to have his teeth checked for vampire fangs, via the tongue method, that he's fairly interested in some sort of honorable intimacy in a proper sort of relationship, one of these days.

But then, what the heck to I know? After all, I just spent my pervious evening with some chaste guy, being electrocuted by a giant blue lizard, and helping the holy paladin get in touch with his artistic side. At anyrate, Gwaine was now gone, off to deal with his disappointment in his own special way, I immediately set forth to deal with my own personal issues in the only way I can fathom at the moment. This involved singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall" as far down the numbers as I can go.

Bards can make a real nice living on these unrequited love stories, but all the romance is lost when they happen to you and those you love. Especially when you cry in your beer about them. It ruins the flavor, and makes you look like a drunk who is drowning their sorrows in drink, and not a bard, hard at work at a love story.

So I look at the swirls of deep amber colors in my beer being tainted with my rainbow tears, and I absently pull out a Kleenex from my disorganized cloak of random stuff that just might come in handy one of these days. As I let my wet misery soak into the helpless thin tissue, I vaguely remember the rich, warm, sexy tones of Sir Rhiedyr's voice asking me if I had a Kleenex. This now strikes me as terribly odd; for a chaste man never has to cry about unrequited love.

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Datai: V is for Virtue, W is for Writing

Fri Sep 3 21:30:56 1999

To: knighthood all

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Writing and reading comprehension skills are very important to a knight. I mean, sure, you would think being a big, buff guy in armor, fighting evil doers, and rescuing damsels might be enough; however, being able to read and understand what you read, and write so your thoughts are conveyed in an intelligent and clear manner (even if no intelligent thought is taking place), are important knightly skills. After all, it becomes a read bother to everyone if a knight can't read and _understand_ the loot policy posted by the general.

It had been one of those perfect days, my dearest love, Sir Eyrk was exploring Thaxanos, and I was bar hopping along with him. I arrived back at the Keep fairly tipsy and was going through the list of new applicants and recruits to the Knighthood, and noted that one of the required writing portions of the GKEE (General Knighthood Evaluation Exam) was poorly writ and not well thought out. In addition to that it was also brief, dull, and unorignial.

Statistics currently show that over 86.4% of the incoming recruits are orphans. What this startling number means is that today's incoming knights have not had the love, care, support, and hours of proper discipline and holy education that one would expect of a young human noble.

Naturally, being ever open to suggestion on just about any issue, I turned to Sir Suradis to ask his opinion on whether or not we should demand better quality writing on the writing portion of the GKEE.

At which point I noticed he was asleep.

Now, I'm not the sort to go rat on a knight who has fallen asleep on his on duty hours; however, Sir Suradis' sleep disorder has some rather bad side effects that I know he tries to avoid. Mainly he tends to forget things, particuarlly about his true love, Taggett. Which I can imagine causes some very awkward moments the morning after.

This also would have bad repercussions for me, as I never really did memorize all the GKEE recruitment questions, and I commonly just ask Sir Suradis, as he's rather anal-retentive, as many holy knights are, and seems to have them all memorized. If he were to forget the recruitment requirements while he slept, I'd be doomed.

Naturally I did the first thing that came to my mind.

After screaming, I commenced poking, shaking and singing 'the Rooster Crows' to my sleeping comrade. I did manage to rouse Sir Hengst in all this, who sat about, looking very holy and wise as he's very good at doing, and watched my antics, not entirely certain as to why I was making a fuss.

After dumping a cup of cinnamon coffee on Suradis' head, Hengst's keen intellect started to work, or in his case, vork.

'Vat evil magic ist dis? Perhaps ve should try dispeling him.'

Sir Hengst is a great man. He's not the greatest of dispelers though.

After soundly beating Sir Suradis' helm, to no avail, Hengst tried laying on hands the sleeping knight.

Oohhhh baby, I wish he'd do that to me.

It might have been more effective too.

After Sir Suradis started glowing blue like an empowered weapon filled with holy energy, I started to relate to Hengst about my latest adventure with Sir Suradis, which involved him exorcizing a demon. As such things are tricky business, the holy paladin of Austinian quickly took to searching Suradis for any evil looking or tainted unholy paraphenaila. Going through his bags like a kender snitch, I came across a rather creepy old book filled with advice on demons, spirits, and other creatures from other planes of existence.

Now, demons and other evil things from the netherworld are rather exciting, yet this book was rather old and bland so I gave it to Sir Hengst to read as it seemed to be written in a style that he might appreciate more than I.

Thus I state again the importance of reading comprehension skills for knights.

Hengst decided that we should check for demon possession in Sir Suradis. Personally, if I was a demon, I would have held out for possessing his older brother, Sir Jhervais, but thats just me.

So Sir Hengst and I set out for demon possession detection equipment. After being attacked by the city guard, getting lost in No Man's land, digging up the jungle for new top soil, and being beset by pygmies, we finally returned to the keep with the necessary demon possession detection equipment.

Naturally Sir Suradis wasn't possessed, just souless.

'Dis vould be easier if it vere ein demon.' Stated Hengst, masterfully pointing out the obvious.

Now life in the bard guild is not just holy beer and games mind you. Our music puts us in touch with a deep inner power that flows through multiple planes of reality, a power that can summon the souls and powers of the ancients to obey our will.

In other words, after a few holy beers, if I sing real loud, I can 'Wake the Dead'.

Naturally, if Sir Suradis' soul was out walking, the other spirits on the spirit plane must know about it. So I asked my new spirit friend (who looked suspiciously like one of Ami's many former war horses) if he'd seen Sir Suradis' soul out about.

The spirit howled about some river in the netherworld, and someone called Louthe, and vanished, muttering something about 'in order to obey someone's will they have to have a will.'

Hengst looked these things up in the book about demons we had found, and got to a particularly interesting part about some plane called Louthe where souls were being eaten for breakfast. Apparently this plane also has a taste for eating books, as the book Sir Hengst was reading this rather important information from vanished without a trace.

This left us pretty much where we had begun. Me, slightly tipsy; Sir Hengst, with the holy energy to lay on hands again; and Sir Suradis' souless body sleeping on a pew in the altar room of the Keep. At a loss as to what to do next (besides get Hengst to lay on hands me) we decided we should call it a night, and leave a note on Suradis' body, as the General would probably be wondering what he is doing here in a magickly induced sleep, and not out smiting evil and doing good deeds like it says in his contract.

Sir Hengst's note explaining the condition of the sleeping knight left me wondering about one thing:

How is it that his accent seems to show up in his written missives?

I went to bed determined that no matter what happened to Sir Suradis' wayward soul, someone had to do something about the reading and writing skills of incoming knighthood recruits.

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Datai: The Call

Tue Feb 2 17:05:18 2010

To: all Knighthood

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The Call. We've talked about this before, right? You know, that strange

feeling a knight feels. It will be deep in your bones, flowing through your

heart, thudding in your head like a horrific hangover induced migraine

telling you that you need to go. Somewhere, somehow, your god calls you,

and you've got no choice but to answer it. Because they'll keep bugging you

about it. You know, like that person who always is inviting you over, but

you can't really stand their cooking, so you keep trying to find polite

excuses for avoiding the visit.

Because I happen to be friends with some of the most pious paladins I've

ever met, I know a lot of good knights who have been called thus (not like

what I get called). It is easy to recognize when they get the Call.

They'll all of the sudden sit up and look interested, and you think for a

moment that "oh hey, I've finally said something worthwhile they like."

However, instead they then get this far away look in their eyes, and say

they have to go. And it ain't just for a little trip to the paladin room.

But just like a trip there, they'll tell you you can't follow.

And then they are gone. Usually forever. Or at least as far as you know.

Sometimes people will claim they came back for like five minutes the other

day or something, but you won't see them again. A lot of my best friends

have been called this way, including Sir Varner Pferdritter. Who or what

needs a lawyer in platemail more than me, I don't know. I'm always saying

condemning things, and I really need someone to protect me from my own

mouth.

So thus, the smartest paladin who ever walked the Keep was called, and I got

a call of my own. I was broke, and somehow lost everything I owned due to

the gods warring. I guess they needed a lute and blue tights for their war

effort. I'm not one to question the Gods, so I figure it must have been

important, and I reckon Nadrik would look good in blue tights. It really

would show off his virtue.

But back to my call: Varner's older brother Hengst is a rich first son of a

baron with huge tracks of land, so I really needed to find PferdeHeim, and

bug him for money. And tall, blond, handsome men with polearms and sexy

accents. I needed a squad of those as well.

Hey, I am a Captain after all, right?

Now, you may know, I've looked for this place before, and in retrospect, I

probably should have gone looking for Deepwater, or Sir Aenarion's house on

Arkanina and just hung out there instead, drink all his booze, and gone

right back home. Unfortunately, I was dead set on finding PferdeHeim, and

came up with a fool proof plan to find it this time.

As we all know, or you should, those Pferdritters like their schnapps.

Thusly, it stands to reason schnapps either comes from PferdeHeim, or it is

shipped there regularly in large quantities. All I had to do was visit

every establishment that sold schnapps, and from there track down the supply

chain. Eventually, it would lead back or to PferdeHeim. Now this was the

sort of officer thinking they don't pay me squat for in the Knighthood. Or

so I thought.

Unfortunately there was a catch. I love schnapps too. It comes in a lot of

various flavors. I figured I needed to test them all, everywhere, to come

up with a map of where they came from. When drunk, my sense of direction is

pretty questionable. That, and I think it was Sir Levin who warned me to

never trust an officer with a map. Which was exactly what I had become.

Siccara only knows where and how many establishments I visited. She,

thankfully, isn't the type to rat me out, either. Needless to say, a lost

weekend became a lost week, a lost month, a lost year, yeah I was pretty

much lost. I'd say my lowest point ever, which is pretty impressive,

because as you all know, I've had some pretty low points. In fact, the

beauty of my low points, is that it pretty much makes the rest of my life

seem amazingly wonderful.

So while in a bar, probably too drunk to buy schnapps any more, well, I was

broke when I started, so too drunk to sing 99 beers on the wall anymore for

free beer, or schnapps, I got the Call. The real thing, the echo deep in my

bones, flowing through my heart, thudding horrifically in my head.

Actually, I think I may have fallen off a bar stool, cracked my head on the

bar, and was tossed out in to a gutter to die of alcohol poisoning.

Luckily, when you are poisoned, no one can keep you slept, so unable to

sleep, I did the only thing I could do. That was to follow the Call home.

So I cast word of recall.

And I have no idea where it sent me. Some giant rock in the crossroads in

the middle of nowhere instead of safe in the temple at Althainia. Still,

the pressing migraine, and the 190 proof blood in my veins called me to drag

my sorry self back to Gareth Keep. Like how a pathetic wounded animal drags

itself back to its den to die. Somehow, in the middle of the night, I was

there, Gareth. Staring stupidly at some statuary that looked vaguely

familiar.

It seemed appropriate to my befuddled mind that I report to someone. It

being obscenely late, most decent knights were asleep. Which left the only

person up and about to be the Lord Knight, in the war room. Which seemed

like as reasonable a thing to report to as anything.

So I dragged my carcass upstairs, to meet whatever doom the latest Lord

Knight would have in store for a drunken bard of the Shield Knights, and

discovered something very odd about this Lord Knight.

It was Sir Gwaine d'Aggravaine.

Now, I think this is a point where we should probably back up and give a

little history lesson since I don't think most the readers here remember my

previous stories. In case you do, you'll find this as hilarious and messed

up as I did. But to catch everyone else up on the inside joke: this guy is

the assassin I jilted in favor for Sir Eyrk so many years ago I can't count.

I also, swear up and down to Siccara, thought he was dead. Or at least

missing and presumed dead. That was what I'd last heard anyhow.

Anyhow, any thought of proper protocol had pretty much escaped my schnapps

hazed mind. Whatever had happened, I was thrilled to see he wasn't dead or

something stupid, and delighted to see someone, anyone, I knew.

So I hugged him.

At which point a suspicion that something stupid, strange and queer most

certainly had happened to my old friend crept into my completely unsober

mind.

He was crunchy, like a paladin.

The sensation of hugging a paladin is certainly unique. They have that hard

exterior which is tough to get past, but are all warm and glowy on the

inside. They tend to have some skill at avoiding being hugged as well, holy

shields and what not I suppose. Most certainly that was the sensation I got

from that hug. Crunchy.

Clearly, a lot had transpired since I'd left the keep looking for

PferdeHeim. With my friend Gwaine now a paladin and not dead, it seemed

that was just the tip of the iceberg of weirdness that had occurred about

the Keep since my absence. Gwaine attempted to catch me up on a few things.

Of major concern seemed to be that we managed to loose Nadrik. It seems

that the gods of evil noticed how we run our raids and fights down here, and

it dawned on them that if they'd just group together, have one guy run after

Nadrik while the rest of them follow along trying to murder him, they'd be

able to beat the snot out of the God of Honor.

There is a very rude colloquial term for what happened to Nadrik. I know

you are thinking of it right now, yes Nadrik got .....

Anyhow, now in the hands of His arch nemesis, Devion, Nadrik seemed in dire

need of someone experienced in rescuing handsome men. This seemed vaguely

up my alley, but, really, I wasn't so sure I'd really been called back to

the Keep to do that. Or anything else but crawling to a secluded corner of

the stables and puking my guts out. However, Sir Gwaine seemed fairly

insistent that I aught stay and get myself back together.

Now, as I said, I have a long and glorious history of blowing this guy off.

And that was just what I intended to do when I passed out on a pew after

chatting with him that night. Just sleep it off, then get up, and go find

PferdeHeim again in the morning, because, after all, the Pferdritters are

rich, and if anyone could buy the shard to save Nadrik back, it would be

them. However, somehow after all these years, Sir Gwaine had finally

discovered my secret, okay not so secret, weakness.

I cannot say no to a paladin.

For no good reason I can fathom, I showed up for duty right when he told me

to the next day. I suppose it is a good thing. After all, it seems there

are a lot of things out of order here at Gareth Keep.

First off, the whole Nadrik being abducted thing. Secondly, an ex-assassin,

ex-suitor of mine is the Lord Knight. Thirdly, no one ever found the Lute

that got looted. Fourthly, they still haven't gotten those nice yellow

draperies I suggested all those years ago. Fifthly, they got a yinn. Now,

I always wanted to keep the puppies I rescued, but noooo always, "take them

back to the high priest." Well, they go and get a yinn, and now it's the

Lance General, probably because they failed to be calm assertive pack

leaders, and thus now the yinn thinks he's the leader of the pack.

And they want me to sober up? Are they completely crazy mad? I'll tell you

exactly what I need to do here: I need another drink.

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Datai: From the Pew of the Bard in Charge of Siccara Promotions

Wed Aug 3 00:09:58 2011

To: all Knighthood but most direly: Immortal Siccara Religion

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There is a lot in this world we take for granite. The dwarves know a lot

about rocks and probably could help clear up any misconceptions on what

stone we are standing upon. Lately, though, I've been trying to learn more

about rocks. Especially the pretty ones. Crafting gems is a lot harder

than crafting books I've found, so I decided I better get back to what a

bard does best: writing!

Siccara gave me the all important job to help try to revive Her Church.

This is the sort of job that normally would fall upon a proper cleric,

priest or prophet or something. However all Siccara has are bards. She's

got a whole choir of them, and some how I got picked as the lucky bard that

goes around trying to convince young people that a life as a cleric isn't as

bad as it sounds.

Needless to say, I've not had much luck with that yet. So, this means

someone has to do the sermonizing until I find a priest of Siccara who

doesn't quit after just one confession session with me. So, I was busy

writing for the service I plan on giving about Nadrik and Siccara and how

they work together when I decided I'd do a bit more research and go to the

temple of the stars and take a look see at the constellations there and what

stories they tell.

This seemed like a harmless field trip, and I gated away to Nadrik's

Constellation, which was always right where you expect it to be. Everything

seemed pretty neat and orderly there, and after looking things over there I

went over to Devion's. Everything seemed to be pretty much in the sort of

disorder you'd expect there. So from there I went to Siccara's

Constellation.

Right, Siccara's. Hello Siccara. Siccara?

Only I could not find Her Constellation. I looked all over the temple, I

even checked for secret doors. Up and down and everywhere. I walked to the

High God's throne and back to the stary sky. Now I'll admit I'm not the

most thorough of explorer, but I had a deep dark sinking feeling in my gut

about this. Like I'd been crushed in a black hole.

I returned to the Altar room with my research, and there was Sir Alastair.

He's a crusader who pew sits a lot for a Lance Knight. I keep trying to

poach him to the Shield. So it was to him I posed my burning question of

the moment:

"Suh, have yah ever seen Siccara's Constellation?"

He nodded.

I get that a lot around here. The knights think that if they just quietly

nod and don't make eye contact that I won't drag them into whatever it is

I'm doing. This was too important to let go. So after some prodding and

begging, I got Sir Alastair to get up off the pew and show me where to find

Siccara's Constellation.

I followed him all over the temple as he looked; certain that Her

Constellation was just around the corner. I felt that sinking pit of a

black hole feeling again, and we returned to the Altar room, scratching our

heads.

Back at the Altar room was Sir Aequitas. Now he's an excellent explorer.

In fact he's even found the Temple of the Serpent's Eye and has trained as a

monk there! So to him I posed my still burning question of the moment:

"Suh, have yah ever seen Siccara's Constellation?"

He nodded.

Without much prompting, he confidently made a nexus to the temple of the

sky. I followed him all over the temple as he looked; certain that Her

Constellation was just around the corner. That sinking black hole feeling

gripped me again. Still, Sir Aequitas would not be deterred.

We went to the High God's Throne where we summoned all the constellations.

Well, not Mencius'; it would not cooperate. Then we tried to take a roll

call. It was awe inspiring to be there with all the constellations of our

gods sparkling in the dark sky of the room. Unfortunately Siccara's

Constellation was not to be found. Convinced there was another

constellation out there he could not scry, Sir Aequitas and I set off to the

observatory in the Crystal Monastery on Icewall. There the telescope seemed

to be in a state of disrepair; however, from what I could tell the only

thing wrong with it was all the clouds. Sir Aequitas helpfully tired to

control weather better, but, frankly, that spell never seems to do anything.

Even when Turpa was alive.

We asked the astronomers and students there if they had ever seen Siccara's

Constellation. None of them had. Of course, it is unlikely they could ever

see anything with Icewall's weather.

We then set out to the gnomish observatory of Gahboom. There we could

clearly see to the constellations. However not to Siccara's. We asked the

gnomes there if they had ever seen the Constellation of Siccara. None of

them had. Of course a lot of those telescopes were actually pointed down at

the city of Arkane and the surrounds. Arkane always gets invaded, and it

only figures that even the gnomes have it out for them, too.

That black hole crushing feeling was still gripping me tightly as we

returned to the Altar room. There I decided I needed a holy beer or six to

think over this research I'd uncovered.

When I came to, Lord Gwaine was there in the altar room. He was busy trying

to organize some action to retake the Keeps. Now my beloved Gwaine isn't

much of an explorer. His sense of direction is terrible. With Paladins of

Nadrik charging straight ahead is always the right way. Gwaine's warhorse,

Patches, must have a funny tilt or something because Lord Gwaine always ends

up going in a circle. Anyhow, I was pretty desperate, so I posed to him my

still smoldering question of the now for more moments than I cared to think

about.

To which he confidently answered, "Siccara has a .. Erm .. No."

Well, at least he didn't nod at me. That probably would have landed him a

night on the couch. Still, that sinking black hole of a feeling gripped me

as tightly as if I'd taken a bad step in the stars.

I approached the most venerable Knight of the Keep, the High Justice,

Dame Kiery, in the altar room. Venerable of course means oldest, and surely

if there had ever been a Constellation of Siccara in the sky, ever, she

would know about it. So I asked her this now slowly smoking question of a

really long day:

"Dame, have yah ever seen Siccara's Constellation?"

She nodded.

I could see where that was going!

No wonder Siccara has been so unpopular! All these years we all have taken

the fact She has a constellation for granite. Yet, if She does, it is

hidden from sight, and that just won't do. Having a constellation is like

free advertising in the heavens. Bright sparkly lights flashing "worship

me" to every lost soul looking to the sky for divine guidance. As Siccara's

bard in charge of Church Growth, this clearly needed to be fixed. It is

quite the injustice, and as a Knight I can't let these things go!

The only thing I'm unclear about is how. As I sat on the pews trying, and

failing, to cut amethyst gemstones, I considered the possibility of renting

a dragon to fly around Verminasia's airspace with a big, lavender "Got

Heals?" Banner tied to its tail. The pretty purple gems sparkled like

stars in my hands, and I wondered how in the world I could stick them up

into the sky shaped like Siccara.

Sort of.

Honestly I don't see how they came up with the pictures those stars make

anyhow, but Siccara needs one!

Siccara bless!

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Datai: A request to fix or make Siccara's Constellation in the Galexy area

Wed Aug 3 10:55:20 2011

To: immortal Siccara rp religion builders who make stuff

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(A prayer is sung up from the Altar room of Gareth's Keep.)

Dear Siccara, I'm sorry about the sorry state of the Church,

I may have bitten off more than I can chew, (which as you know is nothing new)

Still, I can't leave Yah in a lurch,

And really with no one else to choose, I'm going to have to do!

I was working hard on my sermon research,

To tell the tale of Yah and Nadrik working together,

For Yer Constellation in the Temple of the Sky I searched,

But I couldn't find it, maybe it was the weather!

My Lady Healer, the fact remains about Yer Constellation,

Is it is not in plain sight,

This is a point of some consternation,

As I think it would greatly improve the night.

So, I have these pretty, sparkly purple gems,

Which I'm prepared to sacrifice to the sky,

If someone with really long limbs,

Could hang them, or maybe if I could fly!

So this is my formal application to the builders of the heavens,

To put Siccara's Constellation in plain sight,

Maybe right next to Nadrik's havens,

So together they can guide us through the night!

A letter to the Gnomish Building Board

|From: Datai

| To: immortal builder Scorn Siccara rp religion Leotie Salinor

| Subject: a request to the Gnomish Building Department of the Night Sky

| Date: Tue Aug 9 12:45:43 2011

To the Gnomish Building Board, Department of the Night Sky, Astronomers,

Heavenly Objects, and Unidentified Flying Objects Division:

To Whom it May Concern,

It has come to my attention that Siccara, Goddess of Healing, does not have

an associated constellation in our Night Sky. She works tirelessly to heal

us constantly, and is certainly as deserving as any deity to be so honored.

I would like to request that a constellation be named and placed in the

Temple of the Sky for Her. If space is a concern, I am certain She would

not mind her constellation being next to Her Brother, Nadrik's, who she

frequently aids.

If you require any more detailed information regarding Siccara to fulfill

this request, feel free to contact me, Lady Datai d'Aggravaine.

The Church and followers of Siccara thank you for your time, and hope you

will be able to aid in this oversight.

Siccara bless,

Lady Datai d'Aggravaine, Lorekeeper of Knighthood

Songstress of Siccara

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Datai: - A Sign in our Night Sky -

Tue Jan 24 23:44:15 2012

To: all Knighthood ( immortal Siccara rp religion )

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<>+<>+<> <>+<>+<> <>+<>+<> <>+<>+<> <>+<>+<>

Look to the night sky, Algoron, and behold a new sight for our

lands: a constellation of Siccara, vacant from sight before, now

shines brightly. These stars represent an omen, of hope, of

healing and renewal for our shattered lands. Rest assured it is

a sign that the Goddess Siccara hears our prayers, and Her power

is at work in our world.

Spirituality

Blessed bearer of the Sacred Shield,

To You I come and my heart yield,

In prayer, contemplation reverent,

I seek Truth, Love, and Courage sent,

Imbue my inner heart and flame,

Faith in comrade, cause, and Your name,

The hopefire that quenches pain's thirst,

Floods my soul with joy, pain dispersed,

Scattered as stars, bright on dark field,

This inner joy, our Sacred Shield.

- Lady Datai d'Aggravaine, Songstress of Siccara

<>+<>+<> <>+<>+<> <>+<>+<> <>+<>+<> <>+<>+<>

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Datai: Fresh Ideas in Keep Cleaning

Fri Jan 27 18:49:30 2012

To: all Knighthood

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I could quite possibly be the worst Shield General ever.

Now I bet you are rereading that statement and wondering who is narrating

this story. Rest assured, it's the same bard it always is, only with more

authority. This may not help you rest assured at all. You may also wonder

whose terrible idea this was. Well, I say Sir Galavant is mostly to blame.

He was the one who called me out on how I was doing all the previous Shield

General's work most the time. I rather like paperwork, so this situation

where I did all the work, and got none of the blame really appealed to my

bardic sensibilities.

But no, paladins have this incredible sense of responsibility, and justice,

or something which wouldn't let sleeping enchantresses and irresponsible

bards lie. So Sir Galavant, and his lazy squire who sleeps in the museum,

went and called me General for a week till Lord Gwaine finally figured out

what was going on and promoted me. After about a year of dodging the arrow,

I finally got stuck.

(That's an arrow reference, Sir Kleft!)

Anyhow, my claim of being the worst Shield General ever is not any sort of

false modesty. Or any sort of modesty at all. I came to this realization

very early on in my career when during the first week of being on the job I

accidentally set a demon loose in the Keep.

Now, I worked quite closely with Sir Suradis LaFortinas when he was Lord of

the Shield, and I can say that clearly I'm doing it wrong. Shield Generals

are supposed to banish, destroy, and or exorcise demons. Letting a demon

loose in the Keep is a lot like dishonoring my sword. Only I don't know

how to use a sword. So it's more like dishonoring my pew. How can I sit on

my pew without shame when I let a demon loose in the Keep?!

You may also wonder whose terrible idea this was. Well, I say Sir Galavant

is mostly to blame. He was the one who did technically use the fake magic

amulet that summoned the demon. I have to concede, though, I totally let it

happen, mostly because I wanted to see what would happen. That and I just

can't say no to a paladin. I actually wanted to invoke it myself and wish

for the locate object spell.

I suspected a high chance of demons the entire time, of course. I'm not

really naive enough to think anyone, benevolent or not, would teach bards how

to locate or identify objects. I figured that the Temple of Nadrik, and two

paladins should be enough to keep things under control. Unfortunately, all

those weird lines and gems and funny prayers Sir Suradis used to make to

contain demons is not just elaborate showmanship. Those chalk out lines do

something, because without any that demon totally got loose on us.

After about a month of tormenting us around the Keep, the demon seemed to

have gotten bored and knocked off all that evil. Things returned to the

normal I've come to expect around here.

Till just the other night, when I was out wandering the forests of the realm

looking for Sir Galavant's missing mace. Why was his mace missing? Well,

while trying to rescue me from a Keep assault that went bad, which really is

the least he can do for me considering all the trouble he's gotten me into, he

tornadoed his own mace. Let me tell you, as much as I may wish for the locate

object spell, sometimes it is tragically non specific.

A path in the Forest, you may think Great Forest, but no there are a lot of

forest paths out there in the world. I've seen nearly all of them, except for

the one I was looking for! While Sir Galavant had come to terms with his

missing mace in the nonmaterialistic manner you would expect of a paladin, I,

being a bard, was determined to follow through on the quest to find it. It was

the least I could do for him for almost, but not quite, rescuing me from yet

another bad decision. Almost, but not quite, finding his mace is about all I

managed, too.

Anyhow, I returned to the Keep after communing with Zandreya to pass out on a

pew in the Altar room when much to my surprise and horror there was the demon's

calling card: a golden rosebush. Just like all my bad decisions, here it was

again, back to haunt me! Naturally I did the first thing that came to my mind.

After screaming for Lord Rithor of the Lance to come help, I tried to explain

to the spell bound page about our little demon problem in Gareth Keep.

Apparently that demon is the houseguest that never leaves. The suspicion arose

that it may be after Sir Galavant's soul. This would be problematic for me, as

I depend on Sir Galavant for advice, and I'd miss out on a lot of ideas and

excitement without him around to help me out.

I returned to my personal home to see if I had any books on those chalk out

lines Sir Suradis used to draw on the ground to catch demons. On the path to

the veranda, now this is a very specific place, I nearly tripped over a

sleeping minotaur. This also was a houseguest that I had thought had left, but

apparently is back. I also found I was powerless to move him. Though for

reasons more physical than spiritual. I was pretty sure chalk out lines would

not help the poor lost soul, so I gave him a blue blankie which may or may not

shatter any minotaur pride or sensibilities he has left when he wakes up. I've

been passed out in a lot of places myself, and all and all, my front yard is a

pretty good choice. No one ever brought me a blankie. In fact, the last time

I passed out Sir Galavant just brought me a squire with a bucket of really cold

water.

Unfortunately, sleeping demons are not so easily covered up as sleeping

minotaurs. Which isn't even easy, mind you, as minotaurs are pretty big. The

Keep needs a good, old fashioned, Siccara style cleansing, and as the Shield

General, I have to see it done! Fortunately Lady Massadah has joined the Keep

to help out with this kind of cleaning thing. This is good, as I may need some

other input aside from Sir Galavant's.

Now to start drawing my demon trap! With the fine tradition of Shield Generals

of this keep, it is quite easy to be the worst one ever, but I'm not going to

go down in history as the worst without a fight. I mean seriously, Sir

Amargein is on that list, and he was the one who lost our original lute!

(Chalk out lines)