Let me tell you, my friends, a tale of Trimarians that will entertain you, and when I am done, let none say that Trimarians know not how to have fun. The cast of characters are an interesting lot, beginning with the Knight, who was once called the Bull from Connought, then the Calf from Connought, but now, due to a Knightly suggestion, is once again called the Bull from Connought. The Knight's Brother, whose heart soars with the eagles, and the Squire, who has a tale all of his own. Then we have the Lord, for whom only time will tell, and his Lady whose aim is seldom too high. The last character to come into the story is the Smith, a simple craftsman who never seems to strike the anvil straight on. Finally, though she sadly comes not into this tale, we have the Betrothed, whose name is like the tinkling of a frozen flower. My story tells of the knight who has taken his squire out to celebrate the squire's betrothal. It is a tale of their adventures as they begin to wrap up the celebration. The stage is set, we begin our tale . . .
Not so long ago, in a land not so far away, in a shire even closer than that, a shire that was home to many stars from the heavens above, there lived a Squire. This Squire was all that you expect when you hear the word squire, but he was well liked anyway. Indeed, he was so well liked that many emulated his behavior, or so the tale goes. Many of the young maidens swooned when he passed and tried to draw his attentions, but to no avail for there was but one lady for whom he pined. This fair maiden was of surpassing beauty, not to say that the Knights of the realm weren't interested but this flower was marked for another. The fair maiden succumbed to the wiles of the Squire and they were betrothed. A twotnight before the wedding (a twotnight being half of a fortnight) the Squire's Knight, along with the Knight's Brother, decided that the Squire, in this, his last week as a bachelor, must leave on a quest to find the revel to end all revels. To carry them upon this quest, they had an enchanted chariot that was pulled by 210 invisible horses. The three climbed into the chariot and left a blazing path as they set off upon their quest. Being pious souls, the three felt they must pay proper respect to their gods, and so they decided to visit many of the local temples. They eventually even visited the Inner Sanctum where they could partake fully of the spirit of their gods, the god named Jack in particular. Indeed, as they were worshiping their god, they were joined by sisters of the church, Lea and Brandy. The spirit of their god flowed into the three until they were fairly overcome by the spirit of religious zeal. It was at this time that the Squire decided that the shire smith should accompany him on his quest.
The Squire and the Smith were good friends, and often, the two would spar on the battle field. The band of brave and fortified souls found the home of the Smith but found that the Smith was ensorceled. Ensorceled into a deep and peaceful sleep. The Squire beat upon the door and shouted for the Smith to awaken, but to no avail. Indeed, the only thing to be drawn out of sleep was an evil and deadly not-fire breathing dragon. As the band of revelers tried to wake the Smith, the noise they made drifted up through the ether until it fell upon the ears of the great and powerful dragon, Xtyng Gwyshyr. Xtyng had been dormant for a very long time, and had been content with that. Indeed, even the townsfolk wish to leave him undisturbed was not as great as his own wish to be left undisturbed. As the revelers tried in apparent vain to awaken the Smith from the enchanted sleep in which he seemed to be held, Xtyng Gwyshyr stirred from his lair of crimson metal and glassy stone. Out of his lair he came, looking about to see who had disturbed his slumber. Seeing the revelers below, Xtyng attacked. Down Xtyng swooped, missing the revelers by mere inches, a single claw catching the Knight upon the arm. Up Xtyng rose as he prepared for another dive. The revelers were surprised but they were mighty fighters and quickly recovered. The warriors prepared for battle.
Xtyng Gwyshyr dove at the party once more. This time the Knight was prepared and as Xtyng made his pass, releasing his not-fire, the Knight, jumping high into the air, grappled with the mighty beast. Strong was the dragon, but stronger still was the Knight as he caught Xtyng and held him to the ground. The battle was now truly joined as Xtyng fought with desperation and the Knight held on for his life. Xtyng Gwyshyr unleashed his breath, the not-fire spreading. The Knight , hands wrapped around the beasts throat, began the arduous task of throttling the dragon. The two fought mightily and it soon became obvious that, as powerful as was the dragon Xtyng Gwyshyr, the Knight, once more called the Bull from Connought, was the mightier. Though it took many more minutes for the beast to exhaust himself, the Knight had gained control. The party now turned back to the problem of waking the Smith. After long thought, and many gouts of not-flame from the dragon, they decided to visit the local Lord. Thus did the party, including the dragon, climb back into the enchanted chariot drawn by 210 invisible horses and set out for the Lord's manor.
The journey to the Lord's manor was long and hard with the dragon releasing gout after gout of his not-fiery breath, many of them inside the chariot. Thankfully no one was injured. Indeed it looked as if the chariot was aflame as it traveled up the highway that led to the Lord's lands. Finally, the chariot pulled up outside the manor and the three revelers stumbled out and up to the gate. The Squire pounded upon the gate and shouted for the Lord to awaken. After many moments of tension, not knowing if the Lord and his Lady had fallen prey to the same spell that ensorceled the Smith, there came a stirring from within and the Lord himself answered the summons at the gate. As the Lord opened the gate, the great dragon, Xtyng Gwyshyr, expired, unleashing the last, pitifully weak breath from his body. It was indeed fortunate as the breath, had it been more formidable, would have engulfed the Lord. As it was, the quick reflexes of the Lord saved his own life. The three revelers entered the manor and the Lord was joined by his Lady. The tale of the quest was told as well as the enchantment upon the Smith. The Lord thought long and hard until he remembered that in his early years, when he traveled far and wide, he had discovered an object of tremendous magic. With this object one could speak to those who were far away and even to those from other dimensions. It was believed that with this object you could even speak to the gods themselves. The Lord suggested that they could use the object to try to contact the Smith, for the realm of dreams could be no further than the realm of the gods. The Lord described how the object was to be used and the Squire took up the object and attempted to contact the Smith. After several moments, the tension in the hall ringing like a bell, there spoke a disembodied voice. The Squire had successfully contacted the Smith.
The Squire told his tale, telling of the quest for the revel to end all revels. He told of the Inner Sanctum and the two Sisters of the Church that had aided the three in there devotion to the god called Jack. He told of the Dragon which had attacked the three and of trip to the Lord's manor. The Squire then asked the Smith how the enchantment upon him could be broken, how he could be awaken. The Smith replied that he was indeed awake for it seems that whether the realm of dreams is farther away than the realm of the gods or not, the insistent call had pulled the Smith out of the enchantment that had held him.
Indeed, it was true for the Smith was awake and was grateful to the revelers for their timely intervention of the enchanted slumber. The Squire and the Smith spoke for some minutes until the Squire realized that though he had not actually begun his quest, he had already found the revel to end all revels. The Squire ended the conversation with the Smith after extracting a promise to be on the fighting field the next day so that they could spar. The quest complete, the three revelers went home where they could rest and recover from their journey.
This brings us to the end of the tale, though there are a few things of interest to say. On the day following the quest, the Revelers, the Smith, the Lord and his Lady, and many others of the Shire gathered together at the practice field were the Smith told the tale. The Smith was grateful to the revelers for breaking the enchantment of peaceful slumber and will tell the tale of the Squire's quest, to any who ask, as thanks. Indeed, we are lucky for the Smith had in his possession a magical box that can remember anything spoken into it. As evidence of this strange tale, the Smith will gladly have this magical box recite, word for word, the conversation he had with the Squire.
Much time has passed now but the memory of that night lingers, and indeed that night founded a new tradition in this Shire that is the home to many stars; If you are out late at night, upon your own quest for the revel to end all revels, and you discover that the excitement of the quest is faltering, find one of the many magical far speakers about, and call the Smith. The Smith may not be able to join you, but you may provide material for another Tale of Trimarians.
(Note: The Squire, some years now a Knight and previous King of Trimaris, having grown weary of the spreading of this tale, has confiscated the magical box and thus, you must now take my words that this tale is true.)