From: caz@owlnet.rice.edu (HWRNMNBSOL)
Subject: [KQ] [TGMOAB 10.0] PERSPECTIVE OF THE AGES
Organization: Rice University
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 06:38:23 GMT

IN THE COURT OF LORD MACHRION LIONHEART

Know then, great Lords and Ladies, that I am no Skald, no bard, but a simple
country man.  I have no great gifts of speech or song.  All I have to offer
such fine folk as you are the ballads of my youth.  They were taught to me
by my grandfather, and in turn those lays were taught to him by his, and so
on down the line further than memory and history extends.

These songs do not tell stories of the world of today -- they are far too
old for that.  In the times of these verses, armored dreadnaughts did not
creep across the countryside on treads of adamantite, spraying liquid fire
on honest country folk.  In those days, lords did not poison their chattel
with mind-bending distillates and whip them with neurostunners!  In those
days, a man could live like a man without some aggrandized bandit snatching....
Unhand me!  Let go, you big lout!  Ow.......alright!  Enough -- I'll amuse
you with my tales, if you wish, though there is no amusement left in my
heart!

My lord, this ballad is nameless.  Make of it what you will:

Great flinty walls reached skyward
Ships bore gold and fruit and slaves
The greatest city; in the days
before the sinking of mythic Rameshand.

Child and Child, brother and sister
Rats in the walls of plenty
Scraping love from barrel-bottoms;
Living life like king and queen.

From city center; shadows reach
Coveting; carressing; possessing.
A net of blackness snares girl-child;
Hollow-eyed, boy-child's hands are empty.

Looms of war spin a coarse cloth;
Child in battle becomes Man of peace.
Man makes streets his newest battleground;
Man lights torch in shadow's midst.

Each Thing that takes another
Becomes the other, in a sense;
Shadows and girl-child intermingle;
Blackness sets a loving trap.

In the depths of dark despair,
Warriors flock to Warrior's aid.
Setting on a desperate quest
to find the lost, and save the damned.

A web of lies, and sneakish snares
take tolls on souls of heroes.
A cunning path spirals in and under,
into the city's foetid heart.

In many cities in one, each dead,
The questors find their final answer:
At the core of every ill
Rests One-In-Many, Truthful Liar.

Darkness births horrors from every age;
Warriors join in frightful battle.
Girl-Child toys with Boy-Child's spirit
Like idle potter kneading clay.

In the very heart of paradox
Boy-child finds the Warrior way
A gambit, a half-truth, and misplaced trust
tip the scales; send darkness into chaos.

Warriors flee from ancient malice,
Taking life when victory failed;
Wrong was righted; life redeemed
But darkness was, is, and shall be.


That's the ballad, my lord.

What does it mean?  I can't honestly say for certain.  I can guess, though.
I think it's not supposed to be truth, but a metaphor for resisting
oppression.  I think the 'Boy-child' and his companions stood up against
the tyrrany of government and struck a blow against.....ow!  Unhand me,
you blackguard!  You Philistine!  You hairy armpit of a.........

******************************************************************************

This post marks the end of the Kron Quest.

Credits:

T. E. Kron                   Andrew J. Solberg
Lady Azzar                   Tanya Olsen
Captain                      Brett Fishburne
Colin                        Jim Miller
Fenris                       David Macky
HighFlyer                    Paul Davis
Father Lucas                 Clinton Richard Wolf
Maleiu                       Aaron Humphrey
Marcel                       Rick Jones
'Raelf                       Stephen Hutchison
Rhoan                        Randy Leep
...sage                      Pete Calvert
Silken                       Mithrandir
Thk                          Michael Rigler

........and a cast of thousands.......

Special thanks go out to the various writers, who put together a terrific
story despite scheduling conflicts and organizational difficulties; to a
handful of lurkers and other readers for gratifying fan mail and input;
to Nightstalker for setting up this group in the first place; and to the
many other people who I am no doubt overlooking in the doling out of praise.
Fine job, all, and I'll see you in the Inn!

-- 
HWRNMNBSOL,
who will never have to use that damned [KQ] prefix ever again
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn