<html><div style='background-color:'><P>Greetings unto Baron Kainin and to the Western Region,</P>
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<P>The Amazons and our allies in Rhoadd look forward to the Gothic War. The Amazons shall seek out the black-hearted Raspoli and shall punish him severely for his laying hands on our good daughter Baroness Sofiye. Let him be warned.</P>
<P>The Gothic War shall also be the place where the Amazons will celebrate our 25th Anniversary as a household in the SCA. Mistress Baroness Ladymother Regina is making the long trek from An Tir to celebrate with us. We will, of course, hold our infamous Amazon Chattel Auction with many fine specimens for the offering. So ladies bring your auction goods and be ready to have a good time.</P>
<P>Not only does Rhoadd bring an outstanding fighting unit under the command of Sir Corwin von Xanten, they bring the fire spinning, the puppet show and the finest group of drummers in Ansteorra for the entertainment of all.</P>
<P>The time is right - the stage is set - Baron Kainin, we are on our way.</P>
<P>Baroness Janais L'orfevre</P>
<P>Amazon Household</P>
<P>Liason to Rhoadd</P>
<P>Shire of Ffynnon Gath<BR><BR>>From: HE Kainin Tepesa <kainintepesa@yahoo.com><BR>>Greetings unto my western kinsman,<BR>><BR>>The time draws ever closer to the chosen day when we<BR>>will meet the cur Ruspoli on the field of war. Even<BR>>now this villainous black dog nips at the heels of my<BR>>lands and tries to goad me into an early conflict. I<BR>>am including a letter I received from my herald (see<BR>>below), who lives near the border of Bonwicke's lands.<BR>>I beseech you to come to the lake, near the village of<BR>>Sweet Water, on the second day of September and join<BR>>with me as we crush this vile upstart and bring peace<BR>>back to these lands.<BR>><BR>>In service to Christ and Crown,<BR>>Kainin Tepesa<BR>>Baron of Bonwicke<BR>><BR>><BR>>------------------------------------<BR>>Pray heed me, my
liege,<BR>>Ê<BR>>I know not if this missive shall reach thee, for the<BR>>skirmishing along our borders has intensified greatly<BR>>over the past few nights. 'Twas but a short time past<BR>>that I wrote to thee of the incursions against my<BR>>estates, but so much has happened that the lands of my<BR>>home have been forever altered. I look upon a surreal<BR>>landscape of pain each morning, and the hellish orange<BR>>glow of crop fires lightens the night sky at dusk.<BR>>Ê<BR>>Raiders in black have continued their assault upon the<BR>>villagers herein with damnable efficacy. Your skilled<BR>>guard have proven effective at repelling them from<BR>>striking deeper into the domains of Bonwicke so far,<BR>>and for this we are grateful, but the toll from this<BR>>wily fox and his cunning dogs is rising. Galen and I<BR>>are at the sheer limit of
our resources.<BR>>Ê<BR>>Each day a black-fletched arrow finds itself embedded<BR>>in the wall of my drawing room, and bears the same<BR>>dire tidings.<BR>>Ê<BR>>ÒDeath to Kainin! Death to the pretender!Ó<BR>>Ê<BR>>It is a portentous choice of words is it not?<BR>>Ê<BR>>I suppose I should be grateful these missives are not<BR>>standing out from my own chest in this case, but there<BR>>is little comfort in that as I see the soot besmudged<BR>>faces of my servants and serfs following each nightÕs<BR>>attack.<BR>>Ê<BR>>Though to speak such comes perilously close to<BR>>treachery your Excellency, I cannot deny the soundness<BR>>of this curÕs tactics. He comes in the night<BR>>unheralded, finding gaps in my defenses I have missed,<BR>>and like a vengeful spirit fades with the dawn light.<BR>>His men fight like demons and yet there
is a curious<BR>>honor in their slayings. None of my unarmed serfs have<BR>>been slain, but the toll on my personal guard has been<BR>>staggering.<BR>>Ê<BR>>My memory harkens back to the days predating your<BR>>investiture, when we in our mercenary guise did strike<BR>>at enemies in foreign lands similarly before an<BR>>invasion. This Captain seems a well-traveled man of<BR>>letters not unlike yourself my Baron. These are not<BR>>the undisciplined brigands I had expected, but rather<BR>>battle hardened warriors and veterans of successful<BR>>campaigns too long at rest.<BR>>Ê<BR>>His hatred of you seems rather personalÉis it possible<BR>>that you may have known this man in your shadowed<BR>>past? Could he be an enemy of old who has returned to<BR>>claim revenge against you? When his cowl of darkness<BR>>is lifted, whose face shall you
look upon? I had hoped<BR>>that with the love of your Baroness and the duty of<BR>>your coronet we might have at long last found peace<BR>>from our bloodstained travels, but there is no rest.<BR>>Ê<BR>>I urge you not to take this manÕs bait and ride out<BR>>against him before the appointed time my old friend.<BR>>Away from the cover of night, and the chaos of burning<BR>>fields, I think RuspoliÕs match may be far more even;<BR>>but when men of honor fight men who have none, on<BR>>their own ground, it is a sad testament to the devilÕs<BR>>amusement that they must surely fall. Take him afield<BR>>on the open lands to the east and I believe his might<BR>>will be broken. To do otherwise should surely see the<BR>>ladies of Bonwicke clad in nightÕs veils as the<BR>>funeral criers drown their wails in deathÕs litany.<BR>>You know this, I am
certain, but I would be a poor<BR>>advisor not to voice my concerns against your temper<BR>>in this case.<BR>>Ê<BR>>My mind wanders my liege, and perhaps it is a lack of<BR>>rest that leads me down such a twisted path, but if by<BR>>fate Galen and I should not survive these raids to<BR>>join you upon the battlefield when at last these<BR>>forces of light and darkness clash in righteous fire,<BR>>then know our ghosts will stand beside you unto the<BR>>bloody culmination.<BR>>Ê<BR>>In grim determination,<BR>>Lord Tristan Hawkridge<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>>____________________________________________________<BR>>Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page<BR>>http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs<BR>><BR>>_______________________________________________<BR>>Western mailing list<BR>>Western@ansteorra.org<BR>>http://www.ansteorra.org/mailman/listinfo/western<BR></P></DIV></div></html>