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On a stormy night many years ago...
A tale of the history of Avalon, by Aidenna Shethane
12 July 98

On a stormy night many years ago, I was quietly adding the last touches to the minutes for the previous guild meeting. The candle a-flickering, I had just placed my quill down when I heard the steady rhythm of a horse's hooves splashing in the muddy grounds of the forest outside. This was not uncommon; the large brick house of the Order of Singularity was located near a major road to Britain. I neatly folded the last of the 12 minutes and placed them in the bookshelf, ready for distribution during our next guild meeting. As I put on my rain cloak, the door swung open to reveal a hooded man. As I silently spoke the words of detection, I saw that this man was red, yet he had on him the colors of our guild. Not knowing what to do, I placed my hands on my katana, ready to attack when he entered the room and unhooded himself. The familiar face of Galenius Borai appeared in the flickering candlelight. Relieved, I stuttered, “Galenius, don't scare me like that… Your head could have easily been on the floor by now, what happened to you?”

“Yeah right, your silly katana couldn’t even put a dent in this plate armor,” he retorted, tapping his shiny gorget with the shaft of halberd. “Some lame PKs decided to pick on me, and I killed them,” Only then did I notice his bloodstained robe and charred shield. “Now here I am.”

After removing his armor and putting on some fresh clothing, he sat and blurted out “You know, I’m getting tired of this. I just got chased out of Britain by those silly guards.”

“Well, you KNOW that British is prejudiced based on skin color, so why even bother going into town?” I said, as I started mending his torn clothing. It was when I was beginning to tailor.

“Well, first, I needed to buy some supplies, and more importantly, my friends are able to walk in there. It’s not safe to talk and hang around in the wild. You need a pub for that, a town.” He sat there, staring at the candle flame, flickering softly. Suddenly he stood up and said, “You know, we could start a town, a town free of prejudice, free from British’s blind guards. A town where people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but rather by the color of their soul.”

“You’re crazy. We’re just a small guild! We don’t have the resources! Heck, all my money has been donated to buy that guild training house next door! Are you out of your mind??!” I yelled.

“There’s more to it. I've heard other people discussing about starting a town. We’d be one of the large contributing forces! It’s not that hard, we can make the money if we worked towards it…are you in?” the candle flame shone brightly in Galenius’ eyes. At the time, I thought it was just a reflection, but now I feel it could have been Galenius’ internal flame showing itself.

“I’ll support you, but I still think you’re crazy…”

— And that, was the beginning of Avalon for me.

Aidenna Shethane
12July98

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