by rhyana » Wed May 17, 2006 4:19 am
found a charter:
As the fire died down, the embers glowed a vibrant crimson. Story time had once again arrived in the kingdom. The younger children sat in a crowded circle around the elder, each jostling the next as they inched closer to better hear. The older generations had heard the tale thousands of times before but even they stopped work to listen. It was the legend that governed their entire reason for being, a tale that never grew old.
"A long, long time ago in a kingdom very near here, there once was a prosperous kingdom ruled by the kind and benevolent King Olander. Alas, the good king had one major fault. Being so kind and benevolent himself, he had difficulty seeing the evil in other people.
"Thus he unsuspectingly married the Evil Sorceress Queen who brought her three children to the kingdom. The eldest, named Barnabas, was a beastly person who lived for bloodshed. He preferred to spend hours in the forest killing defenseless creatures. This was about the only thing Barnabas could do well, for he had the intelligence of a kobold who suffered one too many hits to the head.
"Barnabas' full sister Angelique, was considered the Evil Queen's heir for she had the scheming, manipulative nature of her mother although she hid it behind a professed love for keeping people and objects in their proper places.
"Their half-sister, Oleana, the youngest, wasn't much better. She claimed all she wanted was to be left alone to go her own way in peace but she was neck deep in the palace intrigues, carefully working out of sight to bring her sister into their mother's disfavor.
"In the fight over who would continue the Evil Queen's legacy of terror, Oleana and Angelique were the only real contenders. Barnabas, being a couple coppers short of a silver, was continually being manipulated by the sisters to further their own evil goals.
"However, there was one proverbial thorn in their collective sides, the beautiful, kind, and benevolent Snow White, rightful heir to the kingdom. If she had one flaw, it was that she inherited her fathers trusting nature and was unable to see the evil that brewed in the hearts of her new siblings. The brood of the Evil Queen saw Snow White as a simpleton because of those very qualities, it would be an easy task to dispose of her after the death of her father, so they thought.
"The king slowly weakened in the following months due to the steady diet of poison that the Evil Queen fed him, giving Snow White's step-siblings much time to think of their own plans for the the peaceful kingdom. Barnabas planned to make everyone grow banana bushes and strawberry trees in order to make the kingdom the daiquiri center of the world. Oleana and Angelique, while having different goals in the long term, concentrated on ways to eliminate each other so they could control the land through Barnabas.
"Finally the king summoned his fair daughter. In a modified ceremony the crown of the king which represented the true ruler of the kingdom was passed down to Snow White. As the last incantations were whispered the king died and his era of enlightenment died with him.
"The new Queen withdrew to her quarters to say good bye to her departed father and map the future of her kingdom. But even as the young Queen mourned, her siblings plotted her demise. This was much harder than it would seem for it would have to be simple enough so that even Barnabas (who was several leaves short of a bush) couldn’t get it wrong while leaving her death convincing enough not to raise suspicions until after power was solidified.
"Finally a plan was forged that appeared foolproof and it seemed that the Snow White did not stand a chance.
"It was so simple that even the slow Barnabas could not be confused, for all the instructions could fit in the palm of his hand. It looked something like this:
Step one: Take her to the forest.
Step two: Kill her.
"So the dull minded Barnabas led the trusting Snow White into the forest on the false pretense that he had a special tree to show her. As Barnabas led her deeper into the forest, she became more and more lost until they came to a clearing. While the young Queen sat on a fallen log to rest, Barnabas looked at his palm and prepared for Step Two.
"Little did either of them know that for the last candlemark a young forester schooled in the art of survival and taught the magic of the forest had been following them. He had been found and raised by a band of goblins who neighboring humans for some reason insisted on calling dwarves. The young woodsman's well developed instincts could sense the evil in Barnabas’ intentions. So armed with only his wits, he determined to save Snow White. For Leto, having never seen a woman who was taller 3’4’’ or beardless, was quite taken by Snow White and swore to himself that he would never see innocence such as hers ever be tainted by the evil in man's heart.
"Upon seeing the plan written on Barnabas’ hand, the young forester used an ancient goblin rain spell (oft used to strike fear into the hearts of enemy goblin clans who feared cleanliness) to shower both of them in water before the evil Barnabas could strike. As quickly as the rain came it disappeared but both the lovely Snow White and Barnabas were soaked. T'was then the young woodsman made his move.
"'Hey you guys, what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere, don’t you know about the flying porcupines? Sorry I forgot to introduce myself. I am Leto the Hairless One.' He quickly shook Barnabas' hand to make sure his instructions were smeared.
"Leto, realizing his job was not complete, turned to the ox Barnabas and quickly bombarded him with questions his rock of a brain could not comprehend. 'Are both your shoes the same size? If a tree falls in the forest...' Barnabas, being a couple cards short of a deck, became immediately confused and reeling from the questions. He looked to his hand for guidance but all he saw was a smear of ink. Completely blinded by confusion, he just walked off mumbling, 'Me sisters will know, me sisters will know...'
"Now left alone with the young queen, Leto said, 'Quickly! We must depart, I will take you somewhere safe.' Snow White, as trusting as ever, agreed and was led to the outskirts of a hidden goblin village, (a.k.a the suburbs). Leto then brought her to the home where he was raised and told her to wait until his seven fathers came back from work. While Snow White bonded with Leto’s fathers, Leto went to the castle to discover answers. What he found made his resolve to protect the innocent Snow White even greater.
"For already the kingdom was beginning to split into factions, because without the royal crown the people would not follow any one of the siblings. Claim and counter claim flew back and forth but no sibling could gain the upper hand. The Evil Queen, realizing that her children were on the brink of destroying her dream, attempted to kill Snow White and reclaim the crown herself in hopes of reuniting her children once again. But with the Evil Queen’s absence the dissent only escalated as each child openly recruited followers under false pretenses of peace and unity.
"Drunks and morons flocked to follow Barnabas as their dreams of a daiquiri paradise seemed well within reach. Oleana and Angelique using their magic and guile recruited people of impure thoughts and blackness in their hearts. This left the pure and intelligent who believed in the utopia of old and hoped one day to return to better times. These Leto began recruiting under the cover of darkness, telling them of the evil plans the bastard children had and of the life of Snow White was living in peace in the forest.
"What Leto didn’t know was that Snow White was in a coma and the evil queen was slain by the local goblin militia. The kingdom became even more divided when that news leaked out, war was inevitable. It also became clear that the holder of the crown would gain the upper hand and become ruler of the land. By this time, Leto had returned to the forest, content to let the spawn of the evil queen destroy each other. Realizing that the Snow White was in a coma and her death and the removal of her crown was the sole goal of the evil siblings, Leto and his new found followers swore an oath to protect Snow White until the time came she would awaken and take her rightful place as ruler of the land. Thus were the Sentinels of Snow White formed."
Silence fell upon the people as it always did after hearing this epic. A hundred years of war had not dulled their determination to protect the beautiful woman in the glass casket. Then the goblin elder, Doh'pei continued, "This story I know to be right and true, for I saw it happen with my own eyes. Do not be fooled by the counterfeit tales that have been told amongst the other peoples of this land, for I was there, I saw it all. Leto will soon return and Snow White will awaken to take her place as the true ruler of the kingdom. Only stand strong and do not let her fail to the protect her from her evil siblings."
A strong, reverent "AYE!" echoed through the cavern as the listeners reaffirmed their dedication to their queen, Snow White and he who first rescued her, Leto.
