First of all, its an expression Zeni, im not inferring that you are a horse in any way shape or form.  This is for all of you who were not there or do not have bug runes in Hellespont Square.  Zeni expanded a bit on the Avalon history files.  I thought it was quite enjoyable to hear, just thought some other people might like to read it too!



Zenichiro, Master of Lore says, "Let’s see, where shall I begin?"

Cap'ness Simaril says, "Begin at the beginning".

Zenichiro, Master of Lore says, “Let’s see... I could go further but we'll start with when I returned to Avalon after an absence and found an empty, hollow Parrius”

“Actually I’ll give you a bit more background. Long ago, Parrius was abandoned, it's citizenry more or less merged with Mercinae, with a less number moving to Springdale.  This was a response to a powerful Thakria and it is alleged that the gods put pressure on the current leaders to evacuate the city so that a united Mercinae had more chance of standing up to the threat.  When the city was more or less moved to Mercinae, they also took with it the room just east and north of here, where the young and hungry can eat for free.”

“One more thing, all of the current leaders of Parrius were struck down by a divine curse, which I believe struck them down dead if they were ever to set foot upon Parrian soil again.”

“However, not all Parrians were happy with being forced out of their homes and wanted to see it rebuilt and repopulated.  A small number of Parrians stayed in Parrius, or returned shortly afterwards, I believe there was three initially who were appointed as Guardians of Parrius by Genesis, charged with rebuilding the city. I was born just after that time, can only vaguely remember Shenarra, Conan and Catt?”

“However in the end all it came down to was a young Astrologer called Mercy, on the whole she alone worked hard, slaved away and rebuilt up the economy of Parrius and gradually strengthened it enough so that it would be allowed to accept citizenry again.  So Parrius was reopened to citizenry, people moved in from a variety of places, each of the cities and it had a varied mix.”

“Shooting forward in time a bit, Parrius decided to bravely try out a new form of government, the true citizen system”

“Right, so the true citizen system, this was a brave system, the city started off with around 9 or so 'true citizens' each citizen had all the power in the city. They had all of the abilities of state, treasury, military etc at their disposal. New true citizens were created by being endorsed by 6 or so current true citizens.  However it was very unwieldy and causing dissatisfaction in the city, the main problem the city had was that the true citizen system called for lots of common sense and a degree of collective responsibility or consensus.”

“The most notable obstacles to this system were two people by the name of Catt and Conan. Catt in particular used his power however he saw fit. As far as he was concerned, if one true citizen had performed an action, made a decision, etc, whatever it was, He also being a true citizen had the right to undo or unmake that decision, If 10 true citizens agreed and made a joint decision to set a course of action for the city, Catt as a true citizen with every power at his disposal naturally had the duty and the right to undo anything they had agreed, he had the power to after all.”

“It was a great ideal. Give everyone the shared power and responsibility to run a city. No need for leaders, for aide ships. Surely people would work together for what's best for the city?  They quickly learned that with the truly obstinate and ignorant you have a serious problem, thus was the true citizen experiment abandoned.”

“From that was born a new constitution, still with somewhat of a hope of democracy in a somewhat pure form, but without the deadlock that could easily stop any real decisions being made within the city.  But certainly no Prince was wished for in the city, no central leader. Merely a group of elected council members who between them would take on certain portfolio's of responsibility.  One, was an equivalent of a combined state and trade, one was chancellor and one was marshal.”

Zenichiro, Master of Lore asks, “Have any of you met Catt or even Conan? You must have heard stories about the both of them at least?”

Lady Aine says, “I have met Catt a couple of times.”

The Shadowed Dagger Uwoiame says, “I’ve read about them on the Bulletin Board”

Avesi, the Over-grown Cub says, “I’ve never heard of either.”

Enchanter Fizzy says, “I’ve spoken with Conan.”

Zenichiro, Master of Lore says, “You lucky people.  Well Conan, beyond anything else was certifiable.  And Catt was just Catt. Very obstinate, very vindictive and vengeful if he thought he had been slighted or insulted, or if he wasn't getting his own way.  With Catt it was simple; it was his way or no way.”

 “When warfare came back to the land, after an enforced peace for many years, Parrius fought against Mercinae and Springdale for greater spheres of influence, obviously because they shared a border.  Parrius did very well out of this and fought successfully, gathering itself a fair sized sphere.”

“But as Thakria obviously also shared a border with Mercinae and Springdale, there was a natural alliance and friendship between Thakria and Parrius.  Catt hated this, he hated Thakria and he wanted to see all three cities unite against Thakria and attempt to invade them”

“Meanwhile, Mercinae was under threat of invasion from Thakria, their inevitable destruction was looming ever larger. At this time Thakria was enjoying a great dominance, militarily but even more so in pure physical combatants. Parrius on the other hand since its rebirth had never truly gathered many great fighters.  It consisted of a few foreign born leaders, such as Catt, Conan, etc, and many young, inexperienced Parrian born who looked for their leaders for advice and guidance.  As Mercinae and Springdale were getting desperate, for if Mercinae were to fall they would become isolated and suffer at the loss of SOI with Parrius and have even more of a threat from a Thakria that could concentrate solely on them.”

"So they hatched a plan, Mercinae and Springdale decided to use their boy on the inside, Catt, who for many years had been a Mercinaen Artisan, never knowing the previous Parrius. They planned to enlist the aid of Parrius in defending Mercinae from attack from Thakria.  One night, when Conan was vulnerable Catt whispered words of poison and riches in his ear. He told them how it was his duty to smite the evil city in the west and of how the three combined cities would not just stop the invasion but march forward and invade Thakria, with the riches going to Parrius as its reward.”

“Even better, the plan was for the Parrian army, by far the largest in Avalon at the time by virtue of it avoiding any real battles, to simply protect the Mercinaen gate while
Mercinaen and Springdale forces marched to Thakria and did the fighting, the dying and the plundering.  This appealed to the unstable Conan, more than anything the sweet whispered seduction of glory. His agreement was vital for Catt, as Conan alone had the power to declare war and set foreign policy. However, Conan still wavered, not ready to abandon those who had been his friends in Thakria, and so Catt turned the screws...”

“To hold any kind of an official role on the council of Parrius you need the unanimous support of your fellow council members, when Conan requested time to think on the proposal he came to Thakria and discussed his dilemma. Only to be emotionally tortured by quickly being denounced and unoathed for the Marshall position by Catt.  Although warned what the consequences would mean for a un-battle ready Parrius, and plagued by the threat of losing his position, in his mind his honor and with the seductive thoughts of riches and glory on his mind, he declared war on Thakria.”

“Not having the army to stop Parrius, Thakria had a problem. They attacked the way they promised and the only way they could of striking back, the annihilated the citizenry in a most brutal fashion.  The Parrian citizenry was not ready for the ensuing onslaught and sadly many very quickly departed the land, unable to deal with the suffering. Their women raped their homes and shops burgled. Not even the council would step foot within the land. Very quickly the only two to enter the land were Catt, a pacifist, smug and safe, and Conan, whose sole goal remained marching a large legion of 150000 troops to the gates of Mercinae.  It was more than two thirds of the current Parrian army, and a single force larger than the armies of all the other cities.  Slowly it marches, for days on end. Conan would quickly run to his legion, order a march and quickly run away to the safety of the pool, all in the blink of an eye. Thakria had no way to stop this.”

“Thakria had one hope left. When the Parrian army reached the area just north of the gates of Mercinae, it had to be redeployed.  The Prince saw his chance, he quickly gathered a force of leaders, Conan could not redeploy if he cannot live. Death would rain down upon him and in the meantime a crack force of Thakrian commando's would race towards Mercinae and crush the gathered forces.  The Thakrian forces quickly raced towards Mercinae, and the plan was working. Death after death befell the poor Warrior and he was unable to redeploy his forces into a more defensive position. If Thakria could catch them as they were they would decimate their forced, destroying most of the Parrian army and again have Mercinae on it's knee's.”

“But fate was not to favor the resourceful killers from the North. As their deadly forced reached the Path entrance and were mere minutes from victory a peculiar thing happened.  Once again Conan marched from the pool of life towards his troops, under the safety of divine protection. Only this time as he reached his forces the Thakrian death squads witnessed a strange event…”

“Conan rejected the divine protection he had and began to redeploy his troops. The Thakrians charged to slay him once more, but suddenly to their surprise his meager forces gathered around him and prevented all attacks. Nothing was within reach of the Warrior as he continued to redeploy in safety.  Everyone was baffled, but with ingenuity and effort a few ways were found to attack the Parrian. He was quickly pulled from his men and slaughtered again.”

“As he rode the ship again and the Thakrians tried to work out these baffling events, the voice of the god Magellan rung loudly in the ears of all, proclaiming death upon anyone who harmed Conan while he stood in the same room with his men.  The Thakrians prayers for explanation at these strange events went unanswered; Magellan remained unseen in the land. Conan quickly ran to his troops and prepared to lose divine protection again while the Thakrian Prince marched his troops every closer, just a few more minutes and there would be no hope for Parrius or Mercinae.  As the Thakrians approached Conan as he moved to his troops fire and lightning struck its angry blows. An angry voice boomed loudly in the ears of all once again, Conan is not to be attacked.”

“It quickly became clear that Conan had conveniently invented a new way to protect a legion leader from attack, any attack, just in time to save the day of Mercinae and Parrius and thwart the clearly less inventive abilities of the Thakrians.  Having no other options the Thakrians withdrew, marched their troops quickly back home and prepared to mount a defense to the expected three prong attack.”

“Parrius victory was indeed great. They had lost all their citizenry, ALL of their citizenry, but Catt and Conan, but they had came to the aid of Mercinae, saved their day, but what's more they were promised the untold riches that lay within the walls of Thakria, as soon as it was invaded.  Mercinae also did well, it hadn't spent a life and yet had saved its city from certain doom. Springdale also had gained a lot from the events in the south, with two allies and a combined massive military dominance victory would be assured against Thakria.  However, many Thakrians were becoming disillusioned with the land around this time, the times they were certainly-a-changing. The events that led to the rescue of Mercinae and Parrius were chief amongst them.  A portal was discovered to a more distant time, the land of first age and with it's discovery the Prince and many Thakrians quickly departed.”

“Ok, now it's the sequel. Return of the Prince!  This time it's personal”

“The Prince returned, the first thing he discovered was that Parrius was a wasteland. He walked the city one day only to find every single door open, every shop, every house, every government building.  Their was only a smattering of active citizenry, tiny young things, and of course, Catt and Conan”

Safovine asks, “Who was the prince?”

Zenichiro, Master of Lore says, “The Prince is me.  I returned to the land; saw with sadness what had become of Parrius. I was a friend of Mercy's and knew how hard she worked to see the city to rebuilt, and I admittedly felt guilty at being responsible for putting it in this sorry state.  There were inklings that the young new Parrians were not happy with the way they were fathered by Catt, a very single-minded person. They wanted to have their own views, their own opinions.”

“Catt was making deals with Mercinae, trading 'peace' for Parrius for Parrian SOI".  Parrius owned all the land east of the half way inn.  Catt as effective leader of the city gave this away to Mercinae.  He was essentially working on Mercinae's behalf, the city he had spent most of his life in.”

“So although the city appeared decimated, there was the green shoots of a growing varied opinion in the city and that could only be a good thing.  Ok, so I return. Catt is questioned in Parrius, his abrasive ways finally going too far with the young citizenry, but he succeeds in using carefully placed friends and bullying his way to a minor victory.  But seeing that the city was trying to change, trying to forge a new path and with the encouragement of many of its young citizenry I joined the city.”

“As only Catt and Conan were active on the council, I stood against one of the essentially vacant people and won within a couple of weeks or so.  At this time a lady called Marie also returned.  She had long been a Parrian, but had been absent for my whole lifetime.  She also had quite forthright views and she certainly didn't like Catt.  She even had a broom.  So Parrius was changing. Krill the blubbering fool was also on the council by this time I believe.  Conan had now departed.  So the council consisted of Me, Catt, Marie, Krill... And hmm, someone like Tetsuo or Fizzy. It changed fairly regular. In fact I think Midori was one who spent a fair bit of time on the council.”

Enchanter Fizzy, bright and breezy says, “Siobhann.”

Zenichiro, Master of Lore nods his head at Enchanter Fizzy.

Zenichiro, Master of Lore says, “Yes, Siobhann. I miss her”

“Catt wanted to be best friends with Mercinae, he was all about we must destroy Thakria, we must give Mercinae anything it needs to destroy Thakria, they are our enemies, always have been, they want to take all our SOI!  I remember one time he was challenged.  It may even have been by me.  Oh no, I remember.  He lost an election, perhaps to me.  Then, he decided to challenge someone else.  He questioned this person, then Snowbird questioned this person, then Spaceboy and some seer questioned this person.  Now given that Spaceboy and the Astrologer were Catt's second and that Snowbird was a Real Life relative, the election was quickly abandoned by the gods.  But that's the kind of politics he loved.”

“Anyway, time went on. Parrius was in a sorry state.  Most of it's army was outside the gates of Mercinae, protecting Mercinae from a city who Parrius had decided to end it's war with, Thakria.  There was simply no benefit in war with Thakria for Parrius, and as we didn't share a border we obviously weren't competing.  The council majority decided that the troops should finally come home and protect the walls of Parrius, not Mercinae. Catt of course objected.  Mercinae was informed and asked for their gates to be opened so that we could march them home.  They agreed and thanked us for helping them and guarding their city for around 20 years or so.”

“The idea of some kind of reparations was mentioned, and again, Mercinae was open to this idea but said that it would have to be discussed and negotiated, which seemed perfectly reasonable.  Discussions were opened. It was suggested that Parrius may reacquire Coriona, as it had historically always been Parrian. Mercinae agreed. Catt who insisted on being part of the Parrian delegation objected.  I suggested that it was time for the food hall to return to Parrius. Mercinae agreed. Catt objected.  A small amount of gold was also discussed as payment for the potatoes that we were using to march there and march home, Mercinae agreed. Catt again objected.”

“Mercinae, he felt should not give anything to Parrius. Obviously at all his outbursts at this meeting, Parrius was not happy and he was prompted ejected as a citizen.  He joined Mercinae that night and was a Baron there again within a couple of weeks, not very surprising.  However, the time came for Parrius troops to come home, we were told that was fine, I marched them to the gates they happily opened them for us and we marched into the city...”

“I was slightly concerned that as we marched in they quickly raised the fortifications in front of us, and time after time when we asked them to lower the fortifications so we could pass through the square no replies were coming.  Omacron was prince at this time, and he was holding a baronial meeting in the council chambers, while his field Marshall was spending a long time in the city barracks just half a dozen locations from us.  It very quickly became apparent that Mercinae had no intention on letting us leave; Ragar was quickly assembling an attack force, to attack us from multiple angles, which would have decimated the majority of the Parrian army and left us very vulnerable. Having little choice we marched through the city, barging our way through their fortifications and not stopping until we reached the half way inn.”

Enchanter Fizzy says, “Not stopping, except to pick off their east gate barracks on the way past...”

Zenichiro, Master of Lore says, “Yeah, to slow them down, it was actually on the exit route.  Thakrians came to our aid as Springdale and Mercinaen troops were trying to kill us, there were huge pitched battles but ultimately we proved victorious.  However, we had lost troops having to battle our way through their large fortifications, and were now quite angry. They had declared war on us out of the blue; the most insulting part is that this was merely for wanting to take our own troops home.  We demanded discussions with them again regarding reparations, but clearly now our costs and expenses were a great deal greater.  The SOI up to the half way inn was negotiated, and some small amount of commodities, potatoes I think.”

The Shadowed Dagger Uwoiame says, “Did Mercinae have that many troops that they could have harmed the Parrian legions?”

Zenichiro, Master of Lore says, “Yes they had a fair amount, and back then attacking with multiple legions had a big effect if you were attacking a single large legion.  However this situation infuriated the then justice minister of Mercinae, Kes. He, Dunccan and Ragar with the blessing of Omacron hatched a secret plan to attack the Parrian troops as they sat outside the half way inn.  I may be confusing my invasions.  They may have just said get stuffed, after making a deal and just not delivering.”

Zenichiro, Master of Lore says, “Anyway.”

Zenichiro, Master of Lore gives a short cough.

Zenichiro, Master of Lore says, “It was certainly the start of a period of strength for the city.  The point is, in the end they gave Parrius no choice and they were proving a threat and Parrius had to invade. Springdale obviously came to its allies’ aid, giving everything they could, but eventually Parrius was victorious.”

“Mercinae suffered a fairly heavy price for its loss. Many in the city simply wanted to give up, refused to make any kinds of deals with Parrius, but they were carefully warned by the pantheon that if they refused all deals that no one would come to save them.  Mercinae eventually agreed, urged on by the gods, but seethed at the indignity of being forced to capitulate by what they thought was a city under their jackboot.  In an effort to provide for the future of Parrius, the terms of the treaty were carefully chosen”

“Firstly, Parrius got the SOI up to the half way inn.  Secondly, the eatery for the young was returned to Parrius and placed in a central place.  The bards guild was also closed down for a time.  And a large amount of commodities and gold was paid to Parrius, making it richer than it had ever been.”

“Some time after this, the war between Thakria and Springdale came to a conclusion, with Thakria successfully invading them. Parrius remained aloof from this conflict and allowed its army to grow carefully.  Of course, you had your odd 100% genuine huggie in Parrius, the ones who clearly should have been in Mercinae, felt Parrius should be a 'good' city, and should be fighting against Thakria etc. They didn't want to see Parrius prosper in its own right. But they were greatly in the minority.”

“Under the terms of the treaty, Mercinae was protected from attack for 20 years by the gods.  However, Kes in particular was notable for his breaches of the treaty, on a number of occasions attacking Marie, a leader of Parrius and stealing city commodities, a clear breach of one of the terms.  That was to matter little. With a few years to go in the treaty, the secret plan I mentioned earlier was hatched. Dunccan, Kes and then Prince Ragar decided to launch a sneak attack on the troops that remained at the half way inn.  Fortunately for Parrius I had already became aware of it and knowing fully well that it was doomed to failure allowed it go ahead. The attack took place, with barely a scratch on the Parrian troops and the gods decreed that Mercinae had broken the treaty and rather than suffer the agreed upon penalties they would simply no longer be protected by them.”

“Parrian anger was great, Parrians had suffered for many years from attacks from Mercinaens, being teamed and stripped for what they saw as the wicked invasion of Parrius.  Mercinaens felt smug and safe under the protection of the gods but now it was no more. A great force of Parrians was assembled, many leaders to Marshall a split and nimble invasion force.  Like lightning the Parrians attacked, quickly over-running the un-led Mercinaens. Their leaders decided that marshalling their forces was not worth their time.”

“This time, in an effort to heal the wounds the city of Mercinae itself was not punished for its crimes, but only it's leaders, and the causes of the cancer deep within the city.  What's more, the Artisans were an equally black cancer in the heart of Parrius. Having already tried to attack Parrius from within, they had to have been put down.”

“In order for the Artisans to become Parrian again, it was decided that Catt must leave, unfortunately he held onto leadership of the Artisans with an iron grip.  So, the first demand Parrius made was that no Mercinaens would be able to be Artisans. If Mercinae did not eject anyone who was an Artisan there would be no treaty.  We hoped this would mean that Catt, Allanon and Alexandra would all leave the guild and allow it to be a true Parrian guild.  Sadly all that happened was they hopped ship to Springdale.”

"Also, the guild of minstrels had been renewed in Parrius, and in order for it to have a proper chance to prosper we had recruitment closed in the Bards guild.  The cancer sadly remained deep within Parrius".

“Also during this time, Springdale was protected by a divine treaty due to their invasion by Thakria, no other city could infringe on their SOI.  As a defensive measure when invaded, Mercinae handed over much of it's SOI to Springdale, along with their commodities to protect them from being seized by the invaders.  This combined with other attempts of aid did nothing for relations between Springdale and it's Parrian neighbor.”

“Mercinae was feeling smug again, with it's divine protection Springdale's treaty, and decided to attack Parrians. The Paladins proved unwilling to listen to any kinds of deals or reason, and yet when warned that they racked only incurring the wrath of Parrius, which had become from a broken shell to the most powerful city in Avalon, they merely laughed and bullied innocents some more.  The attacks grew, Springdale was unwilling to restrain their citizens and so a warning was posted.  The leader of Parrius declared a time and date and proclaimed at this time Springdale would be invaded and all were invited to watch.  With mere years of their safety left, Springdale suddenly began to panic, the daily hounding of the young of Parrius didn't stop, but their leaders demanded that the gods intervene and offer the city more protection.”

“Their plea's fell on deaf ears, clearly the gods felt that ‘what ye sow, ye reap’ and thus almost as soon as their divine protection was lost Parrius launched a daring raid upon Springdale, involving most of the citizenry. It was a brave and innovative two pronged attack, attacking the city from both sides, leaving them with no chance to survive.  Gandalph their less than brave Field Marshall entered the land momentarily to see the invasion taking place and quickly decided he had other urgent appointments.”

“Of course, during the pre-ceding time, you had people like Angharad in Parrius, who wanted me to leave.  ‘It's all your fault Zeni, we have to suffer because of you’, said the pacifist who was never killed herself.  Strangely none of the fighters, the young who i saved and helped daily wanted me to leave or blamed me. Just the huggie pacifists.”

“Anyway, Springdale was razed almost as quickly as it was back on the market.  However, after Springdale was razed, Cordon a fellow baron saw a chance. He was an able fighter and he also had suffered at the teaming of the paladins for many years, and he was only too eager to invade Springdale and bring some pride back to Parrius.  Unfortunately, even more so he wished to lead Parrius, after Springdale was razed he saw his chance to attack me and try to use it against me.  The murmurs of complaint in Parrius were very low, and mainly came from people who had strong ties to other cities, such as Raina who was married to a Mercinaen, etc. Or people who had moved to Parrius from Mercinae in the past.  However, as Cordon suddenly turned on me I decided that of all people if I couldn't rely on my fellow leaders, the backstabbing was no longer worth it. Cordon wanted to prove he could lead the city too and so I gave him the chance. I announced I was leaving the council and Parriu.”

“At this time, Parrius was the richest city in Avalon, it had won 3 wars with the barest of scratches, it had the most powerful army by far and it had two cities under subjugation. It had also won a divine quest run by the gods.  While not holding the most populous or most able fighters in the land it worked together to win a quest which gave it a number of benefits, not least of which was a gem for one of it's citizens.  However, Cordon decided this wasn't enough, it was too close too Thakria and that it should now start warring with Thakria as it was the one city it had not fought.  I left them to it.”

“Now do you want the short version or the long version of the rest of the history of the wars of Thakria?  The short version is... I became Prince of Thakria. We invaded SD, about a week later we invaded Mercinae, Parrius attacked us as we were fighting Mercinae, we invaded Parrius a few days later.”
 
“Ooh Thakria is interesting.  How could I skip that…Lets see…”

“I moved back to Thakria and we had a very good thing going. We had a core of very active, very good leaders; Myself, Yairi, Lancelot, Hermione, Kodiak, Ender, Kiarn, Siobhann, and a few others.  Thakria was doing great, trouncing Springdale and Mercinae, but Nostradamus and his cronies resented it. We made sure none of his followers were allowed in the barony or leadership positions, mainly because they were lazy and stupid, as was he.  He hated this, but Thakria was prospering like never before, backed up by the Loremasters, which itself had an army larger than the other 3 cities at the time, and a wealth to match.”

“Certain events happened; Nostradamus took over Thakria, installed Arthur, Threap, Mohrion and probably a couple of others as barons. The rest of the current barony was ejected and I refused to stay.  As a demonstration of our might, we'd slaughter them regularly.  One particular night Mohrion, then Chosen one of Genesis posted a challenge to me on the public board.  The next time we met we fought; I believe the death toll was along the lines of about 1 death for me and about 25 to him.  Alas he had a secret weapon, the disfavor of Genesis. He quickly whipped out this handy aid and he smote me down. Unable to even out pouch a herb I simply let him kill me and shipped. But I had the last laugh as the very next day he had been demoted twice.”

“Being the lazy bumpkins they were, they were not keeping to treaties. As part of a treaty with Mercinae, which was about to lapse, they had to remove a few thousand troops from their SOI before it wore out. They were warned repeatedly on the public board.  They never quite found the time for it. Strange that when none of them could be bothered doing anything for the city previously either.  The treaty wore off and Genesis ate the troops”

"However, embarrassed at their bumbling Nostradamus began to hint on the public board that The Loremasters were the real enemy of Thakria and that Thakria would attack.  Enemy troops were quickly posted outside the Loremasters guild and sensing the trouble the Loremasters decided to sally forth and meet the enemy. Clearly they had underestimated the strength of a mere guild, we launched forward and wiped out around 75% of the current Thakrian army, plundered their food and iron stocks and invaded the Seers and Sorcerers guilds, then retreated back to the safety of the guild house."

"Seeing their chance, Springdale launched an attack on a now greatly weakened Thakria, expecting no one to put up a fight.  Unfortunately for them, seeing their plight and that he had no other choice, Nostradamus simply surrendered back power of Thakria to the original barons and honor was restored.  Thanks to the bungling of Blueskull, Orinoko, Gandalph and others, and the efforts of the Thakrians their tide turned, Springdale was beaten back, suffered massive losses and gave up".

"Worse of all, they tried to march their troops home, gave up half way and left them there, facing the wrong way, just waiting to be annihilated.  Death quickly fell on the leftovers, but Springdale saw the fate it had left itself in. The invasion came swiftly as the original leaders quickly reasserted their authority.  With Springdale dealt with, it was time to repay the old enemy. The invasion of Mercinae came swift, but Cordon, desperate to show he could lead a city decided that they must come to the aid of Mercinae."

"Mephisto, equally backing Mercinae appointed Cordon his High Priest, and as death upon death came to Cordon, Mephisto conveniently triple marked all the road to Mercinae.  As soon as the other gods noticed this was of course quickly undone, and Parrius suffered with invasion and surrender for attacking its old friend."

"However, even then Thakria stayed its hand.  Rather than suffer a razing like every city had in a previous invasion, Parrius was given a chance to surrender and come to an agreement before such an act became necessary.  Of course, the fact that Parrius was ever invaded by Thakria, despite the fact Parrius began the war is always used by some clinically retarded people such as Angharad that Thakria is Parrius enemy".

"Thus endeth the lesson"

It's things like this which show Avalon truly is the greatest game of all time.
Anybody else with a tale to tell and a tongue to tell it care to share it with us?

You say that like it's a bad thing