And the People did hear the Thunderings, and Lightnings, and Volcanoes, and Tantrums, and Great Jumpings Up and Down, and other such Stuff, and looked,and said in a Great Voice: "Oh, Wow," And feasted on Fruitbats and Anchovies, and Pom-e-gran-ites, and Swill, and Drop-Forged Rat Pie, for they could have archaic, and eat it too.

And the BoD saw that it was good.

And the BoD begat West Kingdom, and East Kingdom, and Middle Kingdom, and confusion reigned supreme.

And they were giants in those days, yea, Ran-dall of High-tower, and Ed-win the Bare-sark, and Ger-al-dine of the Toad Hall, and El the Two Knifed, and Rich-ard of Mont-roy-al, and Car-a-doc, son of Ca-dor, and Hen-rik, the Great Dane, and Sieg-fried, the Urbane One of the Golden Hair, and Good King Steph-en and His Queen Lou-i-se, and many more, even too many to be named. And all shared in a Great Dream.

And Dear Abbess, yea, even she of the Good Advice in Tournaments Illuminated, even unto Nan Braude, that sang of Beowulf, held converse with two in the wild lands of the Southwest, and told them of this Dream, yea, even with those who became Richard Ironsteed and Ioseph of Locksley did she speak, and her words found fertile soil, and grew.

In the Days of Old, when the Prophet DeCles walked the land, Moria went up unto the West, and came home unto the wild desert with Tablets and Instructions and all said that was good. And Moria and Ironsteed begat Atenveldt. And Locksley begat Titans, and Grim, and Small, and Arkham. And Casa Libre begat Ton, and Lockehaven, and JAC's, and von Geist, and Golden Dragon, and Roundpounder, and died. And Greyheart begat Kovacs, yea, he of the mighty Forge, and the Shire begat Rodema, and went unto the East, and Rodema begat Tyr Ysgithr. And Woodsholme begat Malinda, and went to the West. And Zagamar begat the Hotte Flashe, and all said that was VERY good. And MacChluarain begat Black Rose, and Foxmoor, and Good Eideard, and the Whyte Elephant, and many more in Western Lands, and Eideard went to the West, and was seen no more in the World. And Locksley begat Mellyrn, who begat Ered Sul, and went to the Middle. And Tyr Ysgithr begat Helsgard, yea, even those of the mongoloid Hordes, and Free Traders, and Carvelsdottir, and Derby and Fuzzy. And Whytewolfe begat Claymore, even him of the great strength and goodness, Husband of the Fallen Stars, who ruled the Land with Joy, and the Land found it good. And Whytewolfe begat the Crusadenes, which became the Blue Rose, And Moria begat Woodford, which was his last Work, and went to Ansteorra, and became the Son of the lost Eideard.

And Atenveldt was strong, yea, even from the River called Colorado even unto the Eastern Ocean, according to her Manifest Destiny.

And Atenveldt saw that Meridies, even the Easternmost part of the Land was ready to depart from the care of the Fathers and Mothers and Atenveldt said: Go! Be thou a Kingdom, and reign in Joy! And Meridies grew strong and good, and wise in the ways of Chivalry and all found it good.

And Anstorra saw Meridies, even the easternmost part of the Land, and envied her greatness, and shouted a great shout, truly a loud cry, even as a small child denied a sweet. And Atenveldt said: Go! And begat a second Kingdom, verily it begat Ansteorra. And Atenveldt found it disturbing, for Ansteorra was not wise in the ways of the world, and knew not Corpora.

And the Noble Lords that rule the World, those that sit on high in the Shaking Lands of the West, yea, even those that say Live! or Die! were much disturbed.

And Claymore said: I grow weary, for to rule a Kingdom is a Great Work, and tiring to the Soul, and he said to the Outlands: Go! And let the Crown reside with thee, that thou may learn the Great Work. And the Outlands went, and crowned Kings, and made Officers, yea, even Great Lords and Ladies of State, and thought to rule the Kingdom forever.

But there arose Kings that remembered not the Land of their birth, and thought that they were All, and many errors were made to the hurt of the Kingdom. And the Outlands said: Lo! the Sun is Old, and cannot care for herself and we must Take Care of Her, to keep her from Evil Ways and the Sun said: Behold! the Outlands teach their Grandmother to suck eggs! And the Outlands replied: WE ARE ATENVELDT! and thou shalt do all as we say unto thee, for we are the Font of all that is good, and we shall ignore thee, and give thee Grief to salve our feelings even from the days when we were small and weak.

And the Lords of the Outlands, and the Ladies of the Outlands did grin a great grin for the Fathers and the Mothers of Atenveldt were tired yea, even unto those that lived in the Sun, and did not take the government unto themselves any longer, and studied the Work no more. But the Solar Coronet was as a child in a sandbox and played with castles of sand.

But the Outlands were divided, even unto North and South, and would not agree even unto how to boil water, and thus were weak and discontented and unclean in the sight of men.

And the aged Fathers and Mothers saw their children, and their children knew them not, for sharper than a serpent's tooth is that of a thankless child, and the serpent had taken itself unto the bosom of the Kingdom, even unto both the Sun and the Outlands, and made there its' home; and its' Name was Politics, and Envy, and Old Useless Feuds.

And a Great Rumbling arose in the Land, for the people found it not unto their liking. And Carvelsdottir and Locksley begat Sundragon as a place of Peace and refuge.

And the Outlands became a Kingdom, and tripped over it's own feet, and fought itself, and began to grow up. And a young man, yea, even Brian, he of Great Beauty, took unto himself the Crown and the Great Work, but his Queen was taken from us, and there was Sadness in the Land, And there were no Roses in Artemesia.

And demons attacked the Land, yea, even unto worms at the base of the vine, to kill the Dream. But Elric, yea, he of Moray, took up a Sword of Flame and drove them away, and the Land began to prosper, save Ysgithr, that bit it's own tail.

And there arose a New Voice, which said: The Society is run by the Old, and Feeble, Yea, even by those who are long in the tooth and grey in the beard, and they know not the longings of Youth. And these Youth set out to teach the Old and the Feeble the True Way: that Chivalry was as naught, that Victory in Combat was All, and that Knowledge was the pursuit of the worthless; yea, even unto Corpora were the Rules not for them, for they were Powerful upon the Field, and made Kings, and Princes, and Queens, and Princesses, even unto a silk Purse from a Sow's ear, they made them.

WE are the CHOSEN ONES, they cried, heeding not the still, small voice of Reason, which replied: The Aged have survived thus long, and prospered in the Land; they have won a Kingdom from a wilderness, and you stand upon their backs and rail and rant at them. Take care they do not buck you off! But Ignorant they were, and Ignorant they remain, and they cease not, for they are of the Tribe called SPODE from the Land of the FUBBA WUBBA, and are confused by the Great Work, and have No Clue.

And there arose in the Land Trelon, and Varia, and many others of Good Will and Strong Arms and hearts, doing the Great Work with good Intent. And all said: Behold! We are a great Kingdom and a Father of Kingdoms, and can hold our heads high and proudly, for each does the Work as to their ability and desire, and each person is rewarded according to their Labors. And Artemesia begat a Prince and Princess, and it was very good.

And the Mothers and Fathers of the Land said: Lo, we shall recruit New Talent, for the future of Our Dream is in the hands of those who shall follow us. And this they did. To all who would heed Their words they said, Go Forth, and continue in Our ways, playing the Game as it should be, teaching those newer and lesser than yourselves how to play in the Light. And the Children who listened and Learned from those who had been here long before them said: This will we Do. And a little Child stood before them and said: Behold, You-who-came-before, that this Frog Farm is truly Great Fun, and remember always that a willing accomplice in a Plot is worth two (unwilling ones) in the bush. Nor yet shall we suffer the drapes to be soiled, yea, even unto the Curtains.

And the Fathers and Mothers smiled upon the Land, and said: These are truly our Children, in whom we are much pleased.

And they sought the Grail, and the Dream, Yea, even unto carving their names upon the Mighty Moose. And the Mothers and Fathers of the Land laughed mightily and were content.

And Artemesia became a Kingdom, and that was good indeed.

But still the Worm stirred and coiled about the base of the Vine, and poison dripped from it's mouth, and many were sickened thereby, and left the Land behind them.

And the Sun set, and a gibbous, uncanny light shone upon the Land.

And all else is Darkness, for Honor was dead.

LAMENTATIONS

At the gate of the City I sat in the dust,
and lo, I wept, for where are my foes and friends of yesteryear?
Lo, the days grow long, and Tourneys are boring,
and my heart cries for the wit and the smiles.
The Beauty that was yesterday has withered, even unto this day,
and small men play in my Dream.

Put not thy trust in Princes, oh my son,
and look you to thine own House and Honours.
For truly the Lords of the World hear thee not,
and care little for thy troubles; they will heed not your tears.
The Ears of the King are stopped: He will not hear you.

Who will be our Voice? Who will cry for us?
The Lords of the World prepare to tax us even unto death,
and care not that we receive so little in return,
the Font of Chivalry is drunken with power, and mad,
and the Liar is elevated and honored.

Woe to you, and beware!
For your words are sweet, but your deeds speak for you
and all shall see you as you really are.
But I am a Voice crying in the Wilderness,
and none shall heed me.