It is a simple book, a codex, a few dozen loose folios bound together. The cover is heavy stock with a simple red hand that one hopes is impressed in red ink rather than blood.

The Shield District is the old Orcen Mercenary Quarter. It is called the Shield District because Orcen always carried their shields. In terms of buildings, it looks the same as the rest of the town, perhaps a bit more run down. The signs are both in Orcen and the Local tongue. The only differences are The Pits.

"Okay, I didn't like Thanger", I thought, "He was a punta of epic proportions, but nobody deserved to die like that." These thoughts were crowding out the screaming in the back of my head that we were all still in danger if we did not move.

I saw Peeth kneel down besides the biggest chunk of remains, where the heart was. He reached in under his leathers and pulled out a piece of jade on a simple chain. He placed it on the remains reverently. It was fitting, Thanger died stepping in to protect Peeth.

"He needs this more than I do. Maybe it will keep him out of The Hells."

Kerren is the common/ colonial name for Kerros IV. Kerros is a G3 star in Sector 460. It is a Early Series System off the Bael Line. To players, Kerren is the home to an Against the Storms Campaign. Planets and Places of Kerren is a scroll and codex that will include information about the Planet, the Places, and the Clusters/ Warrens/ and Villages of Kerren.

The tradition of Battle Sashes is only a century or two old. It started in Celedor by the River, but it has been adopted in every part of the WestLands. Now the complex code of knots and colors allows Elites to know "who is who" as well as their affiliations.

It seems to be a giant turtle with a long neck. One expects it to be slow. However, it is one of the most effective predators in the rivers, deltas, and swamps of Vireland.

From the outlook of my new and inexpensive flat, I could see her. She was kneeling in the graveyard across the cobblestoned way in front of a fresh grave. She was in dark mourning gear, complete with those large black hats that were the fashion. A lost lamb I supposed, recently wed, recently widowed, crying for the loss of a loved one. She had been there two days that I noticed, as well as their nights. She never seemed to move, so locked she was in her grief. As I drank a lonely nightcap, I caught the glimpse that changed me. In the pale moon light, I saw the grave buckle. In a foul corruption of Athenean birth, some spawn sprang forth. Not taking my eyes off the horrid scene, I reached over to the weapon I had been cleaning. Before I could grasp it fully, the petite young widow of my imagination cleared a saber concealed under her over cape and removed its loathsome head. After checking her kill, she looked up at me; backlit I assumed by the lamp in the room. She was not just a simple widow, she was Mourner. I held up my glass in a true salute from one professional to another. At that point I knew two new things: That the Unnatural truly had become more active as I had been hearing in the back alleys and I needed to move far from that graveyard.

The Order is about the past. It is a collection of people who love history, ancient times, and artifacts of the past. Only people who are really interested in past should be members. A passing interest is not enough. One must be dedicated to the past to be invited into this organization.

I am not a normal fantasy GM. If a player is delving through a dark tomb searching for loot in my campaign, he is probably on a fruitless quest. I dislike the dungeon crawl. I have since the earliest years of DnD. I mean where in Tolkein did they really crawl through a dungeon or other tomb/ place of mystery?

A very short piece

The Lost City of Paldor was never really lost. Everyone knew where it was. However, nobody could get to it. Unknown to most, recent Land-Waves (Earthquakes) have opened up the paths to Paldor.

Omen Birds are the harbringers of death and bad things to come. They accompany war/ battle, monsters, pestilance, and disaster. They follow the bringers of such as well as selecting their victims.

'Look at the woods. There must be dozens of giant spiders here! We are so in trouble. '

Every kind of gamer has the dark potential to disrupt the game if they take their natural interests to extremes. Roleplaying, taken to extremes, can destroy a campaign for a troupe just as easily as any power gamer, rules lawyer, or munchkin.

There is a tournament and now the town is flooded with Knights. OR there is a huge group of nights the characters are interacting with. Now you have to fill out those personalities. Here is 30 of them.

"It is amazing to me how this one little stretch of water has changed the course of history," History of The New Country by Collen D'Madden Blue Diamond Press

The Dancing Lights of the Ice Wind are one of the great dangerous in the Land of Snow and Ice.

So, you walk in the tavern. It is a fairly average place, good sized ceiling, a roaring fire, lots of tables. There is a crowd of about 30 people....

The Order is an odd order. It is a knightly order that does not require its members to be knights, or even noble. It is a small order to be sure, but no one knows as no list of its members has ever been published. However, the leader of the The Order can sit in on the Council and instantly get audiences with many important people. No one is sure what the Order is about and many who have an inkling DO NOT want to know more.

-Heroes scatter under barrage of grey energy spheres-
"You know kids, you didn't mind when Captain Liberty took you down. He did it with honor, with respect, and followed the rules. Not you kids today. For you, it is all about The Power. Just as soon shoot you as take you in. And really young lady, would your mother approve of that costume? Not that the rest of you dress much better. What standard are you idiots setting for the young kids of today?"
-thwack-
"Get up. Don't you have any pride? A novice should have been able to avoid that attack. You have a total lack of grit. Don't lie there and moan. Get up. And that surprise maneuver you two are attempting. I have to tell you, not so much of a surprise. Now, stop standing there wide eyes and slack jawed. Do something. "

"You are heroes for Gods sake. Start acting like it."