Organization: Penn State University
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 10:00:20 EST
From: The Dreamer <ASG102@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [L&S] Prelude to a Date

A cock crew in the distance.  Its vioce announced the coming dawn to the
citizens of the largest city in the Known Lands, Generica.

In the second most interesting inn(1) of Generica a golden skinned man opened
his eyes and smiled.  He had many things to do today and, with any luck, he
would be busy for the next few weeks.  All of that would wait...at least
until after the sun rose.

After washing and dressing in fresh clothes, Luthor donned his BLACK cloak
and rolled under the bed.  There, in the deep shadows, he travelled.

An instant later, he stepped from behind a chimney on the roof of the
Dragons Inn and watched the horizon.  Already the sky was bright with a
splash of red and orange, making the normal gray of Winter seem more
pleasant.  Guessing that he still had a few more minutes before dawn,
Luthor took some time to stretch his muscles like he had done in his
adventuring days.  His stretching and meditation was interrupted by the
second crow of the cock in the distance.

On the Eastern edge of the roof was a carefully crafted chair of a pink
wood inlaid with designs of fine golden wire.  Luthor sat in the chair and
watched the horizon steadily.  As the first sliver of the sun shed its
light into his eyes, he began a prayer.

He prayed for many things.  He prayed for peace between the city-states
of the Known Lands, for the poor of the Low City, for the continued silence
of The-Thing-Beneath-The-Shunned-Center, but most of all, Luthor prayed for
the chance to make a new beginning.

Luthor's life had been full of new beginnings...when he joined the Children
of the Blue Star, when he married Rachel, when Joshua was born, when he
was welcomed in Generica fleeing the wrath of Queen Shana, and countless other
times inbetween.  Such was the domain of Luthor's god Lathander.  He was
the embodiment of dawn, hope, and new beginnings.  He had been like an
eternally springing well for Luthor, washing away the debris of the past so
he could start over again.(2)

As the sun completed its rise over the horizon, Luthor finished his prayer.
Now it was time to see Serene.  He searched the rooftop for the deepest
shadow, now more rare due to the suns light.  With boyish leaps and bounds,
he crossed the uneven surface of the roof and suddenly paused.  He kept
very still and sniffed the breeze..sure enough, the smell of the Winter
Rose was on the wind...even this far from the city gardens.

Luthor resumed the search and found a satisfactorily dark shade.  Not for the
first time, he paused to speak with it.  It was a habit that he picked up
from Serene and her talks with the Mists.

"Hello little shade."  He paused to study its depth, its darkness, the texture
of its miniature night.  "I need to ask a favor.  I would like to go back to
my room and would appreciate a little help."

Perhaps just a trick of the eye, but the shadow seemed to stretch itself,
reaching out to the voice that called it.  A moment later, it touched Luthor's
cloak.  It was impossible to say where one began and the other ended.
After glancing one final time at the new sun, Luthor rolled through the
shadow and out from under his bed.

He stood, brushed the dust from his clothes, and bounded out the door and
down the stairs.  Rowan saw him coming and took two baskets from
behind the bar.  One contained a few pieces of fruit, some milk, and a
half loaf of bread.  This light meal would be Serene and his breakfast.
The other basket, still covered, was their lunch.  Rowan handed these
over to Luthor who accepted them with a wink and wispered, "remember, not
a word to Mary."  Littlefair just nodded as if the matter were of the
highest confidence...and then chuckled to himself as Luthor bounded up
the stairs to Serene's room...

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ADMIN: WARNING, strange footnotes to follow...

(1) I was going to call the Dragons Inn the "most interesting inn in Generica"
    but Trawm would have broken a few fingers...sorry.
(2) Proof that mono has been taking its toll on my brian:
    After I wrote the part about Lathander being like an eternally springing
    well washing away all the debris, I burst out laughing.  All I could think
    about were those commercials on TV where a daughter asks her mother about
    the not-so-fresh-feeling.  I wanted to write something like "Lathander is
    like a great big holy douche" but I thought it would break the mood.
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More to come...

    Love and Peace and Punchiness,
             -The Dreamer-
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn