<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><HTML><FONT SIZE=2 PTSIZE=10 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">In a message dated 3/6/2006 10:15:43 AM Central Standard Time, rudin@ev1.net writes:<BR>
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<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">He was visiting a herald's meeting when he saw a particularly ugly shield.</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" BACK="#ffffff" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=3 PTSIZE=12 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BR>
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To be exact, he saw the bad armory on a shield on the fighting field at Gulf War, and came to the consulting pavilion before he even cleaned up to see if it was registered. He wanted to be able to sic the Militant Arm on a specific person if it was. He was somewhat molified to find that it was not. "Well, we don't know who to beat on," he muttered as he dragged off, "but at least that trash isn't registered!"<BR>
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I have a longer version of the story that I really ought to write down -- I was the herald he came to in the pavilion.<BR>
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And yes, Danyel, Mahdi was a scribe and the branch herald in Emerald Keep, Way Back When I ran a King's College there (circa 1990 -- another long story). As such, he scribed an AOA text on a banana (yet another long story). <BR>
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He and Valeria had also announced, when they ascended to the throne, that they would use the local branch herald as their herald for local court. He was told that only baronial heralds had any experience at all with courts, because so many of his immediate predecessors has used one herald as part of their entourage. Interest and training had waned drastically. "Then you better fix that," he said. We regarded that as a rather militant stand on encouraging good court heraldry. <BR>
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And to nit-pick Crandall's post, his title is al-Banana Herald (see above for reference).<BR>
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"Auntie" Kathri<BR>
who has to go to work now instead of telling the children stories.</FONT></HTML>