Saturday, 25 February 2017
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| Nada, Adorable Storyteller Hostess |
An enthusiastic crowd gathered in Syuhada's Skybox Among the Stars to listen to the first event in the Kalahari Storytelling Series.
The King overcame tremendous privations to make the journey to the event, with almost no care taken for his personal needs, ahahaha
(All stories will eventually be published in the Chronicles. This issue will carry the stories of Captain Jack Docherty and Rosecendre Moonwall, though the stories of Afraa al Abid, View Luminos -read by Josie North-and Sayed Hew Hoall Saw were heard. Their stories will be published in future editions.)
Special attendees included Nilasso, Aisha, Josie, Nada, dara, King Hassan, Afraa, Sayed Hew, Jack and the evil Thorgrim ahahaha.
The first speaker was Captain Jack Docherty, Master of the Red Rover. Jack's story takes in many important figures of the history of Kalahari and other lands, and shows why we are happy to have him now.
Jack's Tall Tale
This is a tale from about three or four years ago, the
days when things were a little different, well, some may say quite different. A
tale involving four countries, Kalahari, Abydos, Meyonia and to some extent,
Kuwar.
It all started one evening with a formal reception at the
presidential palace of Meyonia, for dignitaries visting from other countries. I
attended it, as part of the Meyonian entourage, you know, the usual mingling,
cocktails, me keeping ears open on any dropped information, partially to
entertain myself.
Then I was privately approached by one of the Abydos
Goddesses, Allegra. It seems one girl close to her, a young gypsy girl named
Eman Shehata, who was a bit involved with a cousin of mine at the time, had
mentioned me to the Goddesses.
We talked about various states of affairs and she invited
me to Abydos.
A few days later, I took her up on the offer, and headed
for the gates of the Queendom. At first being challenged, since I was a man, I
stated my name and who had invited me, and I was not just admitted, but given a
guided tour of the land by Allegra herself. At that time, Abydos and Kalahari
were neighbours, and the gates of each were entered from a common place where
you arrived.
There was also an older arena, located right between the
lands, Kalahari gates to the east and Abydos gates to the south.
I returned on and off, between my voyages, sometimes
Allegra or some of the Goddesses were busy handling state affairs, and I took
the opportunity to wander down to the arena, for a bit of practice, both with
sword and rifle.
While heading there, I chanced upon a warrior, practicing
her skills, and we started talking. Well, rather, we started training, as she
said something about needing to warm up and the wooden dummies were not able to
provide for that. She was good, a really good fighter, and when we ended the
session, we both grinned.
She presented herself as Livia, sister of the Kalahari
King. Well, princess or not, she was damn good with a blade, and we sparred
with each other on and off.
When I arrived one day to the arena, Livia was not there,
so I started some target shooting with my rifle instead. Someone approached me,
and I recognised, Eman, the young gypsy girl that I had met a few times, both
in Meyonia and in Kuwar.
She was on her way from Abydos to Kalahari and asked me
if I would like to join her, which I thought would be a nice idea. After all, I
had never really been there. She led me to a small place with a dance scene,
with two men, one seemed pretty obviously some kind of noble, and the other...
well, pretty noble too, those maybe one notch down, or something.
Eman introduced me to them, while she was preparing for a
dance she would perform for us, they were King Hassan Ibn Trrrol, His Highness
of Kalahari, and his Minister, Magdy.
At first, the King was very wary of me, inquiring, almost
interrogating me about who I was and what I was doing there. I later found out
that his intelligence had briefed him of my presence and dueling with his
sister, the Princess, that I was a sharpshooter, in addition to being deeply
involved with businesses in Kuwar. During that period, the relations between
Kuwar versus Kalahari and Meyonia were.. well, shall we call it a little
tense.. to use real understatements. I think General Romanova of Kuwar.. or was
she colonel back then? She rose in ranks so fast, it was hard for us to keep
up. Anyway, it seems she was perhaps behind a couple of recent assassin
attempts on His Highness, so no wonder he was on his guard.
I became rather fond of both Kalahari and Abydos,
spending what time I could be away from Kuwar there. At this time, my friend
Afraa was working as the new hotel manager in Kuwar, and I am afraid I
sometimes referred to her coughingly to the Emirate’s Guards, when I needed to
leave Kuwar for a bit. Sorry about that, Afraa, heh.
Livia was pretty much as wild in the Kingdom as she was
in the arena it turned out, we enjoyed the sparring, me learning from her
fighting skills and she picking up a couple of.. well, let’s call it “my bag of
pretty unorthodox tricks”.
One lazy afternoon in the Kingdom, which was very quiet,
Livia and I were relaxing over at her private quarters. We were drinking wine
and munching away on some delicious cakes she had made herself. Unfortunately,
she had forgotten they were spiked with hashish. We never really noticed, but
enjoyed a friendly conversation with various, perfectly normal topics, like”
what colour of the rainbow would possible a blue penguin have” or ”if you clap
with one hand and miss, does a tree fall in the forest”, when she jumped to her
feet, crying out that she knew what mission we had to accomplish. As soon as I
had gathered myself up from the floor, which I hit, falling off her couch as
she cried out, I asked her what kind of mission that may be, but she was
already well out of the door.
By the time I finally caught up with her—that lass could
run, I tell you—I crashed into her, as she came dashing out the door to the
King’s private quarters, shouting” RUN!”. As she passed me, I took a step in
through the door, seeing parts of the royal bed on fire, the result of a prank
gone terribly wrong, but that seemed like a good idea after seven pieces of
hashish cake and two bottles of wine. Outside, I heard the Princess exclaim a
less than regal” Oh shit! The Guards!”
So there I was, trying to put out the fire of a royal bed
in front of me, Royal Guards approaching behind me, no idea where the Princess
were.. The King, however, I discovered, was with his Guards, and he sure looked
less than happy.
You know, I am no paladin, or something like that, honour
and blood for their own sakes, but I don’t rat out on crew mates. The King
assumed I was guilty of this, and I didn’t claim otherwise, so I ended up in
the gaol, gruel, chains and all.
But Princess Livia she was really straight about it all,
when she saw where I had ended up and went to her brother, explaining
everything.
You know, that was definitely not the first time I was in
a gaol, but sure the first time I shared it in royal company. That would happen
again, with another princess, but that’s another story.
The King told me I was free to leave, I really hesitated,
not wanting to leave his sister in the ironer, but both King and princess
assured me it was not the first time she had ended up there.. and probably not
the last, so I walked out, thanking the King for his mercy and headed straight
for a beer. All that hashish and prison dust had made really parched my throat,
you know.
His Highness and I become friends over time, I still
count him as one, and if he ever needs support, I’ll be there with my blade. We
both actually later were appointed the first Knight Protectors of Abydos by the
Goddesses, the two men to first ever hold titles of that dignity in the
Queendom.
The next speaker was Rosecendre Moonwall, whose magical story touched upon issues of good and evil, and shows us why love is the strongest human power.
Mistress Purple Learns Love is Stronger than Evil
My
full name is Lady Rosecendre Moonwall, born in the city of Hochburg in the Gorean Homeland.
I
passed my early life in Moonwall Manor, with my father who was a warrior, and
my mother who was a scribe. Our staff included a governess slave, a maid, and a
blacksmith-weapon maker. In such a household, my value was clear: bred for a
marriage that would serve my father’s interests, perhaps to a rich merchant. I
was therefore educated to be that sort of woman: learn the knowledge of
managing and serving a husband. I was desperately unhappy and bored!
The
first time I ran away, the guards brought me back with no problem. Of course, I
was not whipped or beaten—I was a noblewoman! But I was confined to my room, forced
to eat my meals alone, punished like a small child. Repeated attempts at
running away were met with more and more angry threats from my father, and
hysterical weeping by my mother, but I was a stubborn girl.
One
day, I managed to escape the guards for longer than normal, by hiding near my
home in a small cave, not taking my usual route to the city. As I was there,
feeling unhappy, a mysterious stranger came to the entrance to the cave, with a
donkey pulling his assortment of goods.
He
was a striking figure, clothed in dark robes and a hood so deep I could not
make out his face. But my eye was immediately drawn to a purple glow of energy
shining forth from his wagon. As I came closer, I saw a beautiful medallion:
the design was two silver moons encased in amethyst.
The
medallion had an almost hypnotic influence on me and I asked the merchant what
I could pay to acquire the jewelry. In a deep but soothing voice, he said “This
is for you Lady Rose—it is your destiny! Take it!”
As I
reached for the medallion and grasped it, I saw a shimmering purple light, and
fell to the ground in a daze. When I awoke, the merchant, and his cart had
vanished as if they had never existed. But in my right hand, I clutched the
beautiful purple medallion.
I
went back to the Manor, and climber the stairs to my bedchamber to sleep. I had
the thought to wear the medallion as I slept, and as I draped it around my neck
and suddenly-----
A
purple glow surrounded me, a living energy which blinded me, the pain
surrounded me and with a cry, I fell to the ground as close to death as I have
ever come.
When
I awoke, I was bathed in sweat, and I was afraid to open my eyes for fear that
they had been destroyed, and I would be blind. But my vision was fine. Puzzled,
I touched my neck, worried that I had just had a nightmare, but the medallion
was there. I staggered over to my looking glass, worried that my face might
have been scarred but though my face was fine, I let out a huge scream, my
brown eyes were now PURPLE, and My hair DARK PURPLE!
From
that moment on, I discovered my destiny: to be a haughty devil, and my mind was
filled with pure evil from the diabolic entity that resided in the medallion.
Hochburg
soon feel under the spell of the evil Mistress known as Miss Purple, enslaving
her family, and turning Moonwall Manor into a den of iniquity. Frightened
townspeople would hear screams coming from the Manor at all hours of the day
and night: “Mine—you are Mine!!! Ahahahahahaha”
The
terrible Mistress Purple became more and more powerful, growing rich from her
trade in slaves, and whatever dark arts she practiced in the hellhole she
called home. Even the powerful Ubar of Hochburg was frightened by the powerful
demon who was dominating his land.
One
day, however, an even more fearsome enemy invaded Hochburg, a tribe of
Panthers, women warriors who put the city to the torch, the residents to the
sword, and even defeated Mistress Purple, captured in her evil Manor and
dragged into the Panther camp.
The
Panther Girls recognized the medallion, and knew that its source of power came
from the demon Belphegor. The Panther leader Tara took possession of the
medallion, and had Mistress Purple robbed of all her possessions, stripped
naked and collared as slave rose.
The
Panthers immediately began to train the beautiful rose, teaching the naked
kneeling slave that she must serve. After several months, rose fell in love
with the fierce Tara, who realized that stripped of the medallion and all her
possessions, slave rose was actually a worthy person, and so Tara began warrior
training with Rose so that she could act as her bodyguard.
Tara
and Rose soon became a formidable fighting force, and came to the attention of
the Queendom known as Valnor. Tara was so impressive that the Valnorians elected
her High Priestess by acclamation, and she named Rose as her trusted emissary. By
amazing chance, her first mission abroad took Rose to the Kalahari Kingdom,
where she was charged to make an alliance with King Hassan.
Her
first contacts were with Ministers Magdy and Afraa, and the Genie Amber, along
with assorted slaves. Warmed by her kind welcome, and successfully concluding
an alliance with the King, Rose fell in love with the land of Kalahari, and
often spent time there.
One
day, Minister Afraa invited a drunken Rose to the Ministry building, then began
to dance for her, when suddenly Amber the Genie captured Rose in one of her
lamps, and nearly naked in silks, remained captive as a slave of Afraa and
Amber. Eventually Afraa freed Rose, but demanded that Rose, a powerful emissary
of Valnor, must kiss the feet of Minister Afraa, to show the preeminence of
Kalahari, and the dominance of Afraa over Rose.
And
Rose learned, both in Valnor and Kalahari, that love is stronger than evil, and
that her Priestess Tara’s protection was stronger than any demon’s medallion.
The following storytellers will have their tales told in future issues of the Chronicles.
View Luminos, whose case of Lindenitis forced
Lady Josie North to read his excellent story.
Minister Afraa al Abid also spoke
as did Sayed Hew Hoall Saw.
When Kalahari events are attended by King Hassan, and Captain Jack, one knows the entertaining beverages will flow, and the event ended as one might expect.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TITANIC CAPTAINS BATTLE
Monday, 27 February 2017, 12:30 PM SLT
All Are Invited to the Arena!
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| Captain Jack Docherty |
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Captain Minghus
The King laid down the gauntlet to Captain Jack Docherty and Captain Minghus, after hearing their tall tales of the sea at the Tavern, as they were plied with food and drink by Tavern Manager Roberta Honey. Stories of wrestling with sea monsters, drinking with Davy Jones, and wenches won and lost at the toss of dice filled the air, and that gave King Hassan an idea.
The wily King decided that the good people of Kalahari could use a spectacle in the Mardi Gras season, the last celebration before Lent, when Christians prepare for the death of Jesus (betrayed by Judas) and his resurrection from the dead.
So the King challenged the captains to use a fist fight to settle who was the toughest sea captain in Kalahari (until the next drinking bout at the Delicious Syrup), and neither Captain could refuse such a challenge as that!
So the fist fight is on. The men will use the G&S HUD and the GM HUD, both of which are available at the dock, using the activating the fist fight setting. And both captains are taking their training seriously, as they were using their fists constantly to down beer at the Tavern.
The generous King offered a stunning prize to the winner: land comprising 3% of the land mass of the entire Kingdom, the location to in New Kalahari! And in addition to the fabulous estate offered by the King, Minister Afraa offered to do a private belly dance for the winner of the fight, and as you might imagine, neither man could contain his excitement!
Minister Afraa in Belly Dance Training
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KALAHARI STORY TELLING II
Wednesday, 1 March 2017, 12:30 PM SLT
All Are Invited!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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