Tonight is a glorious night, for tonight is the night of the full moon. This is one of the times the veil between our world and the netherworld is the thinnest. A time for much rejoicing, dancing feasting and libations.

It is a time of reflection, enlightenment and wonderment.
A time when the lesser hordes, (also known as mortals), get to rejoice and feast with the immortals. It is also a time when some mortals get to transcend into immortal status.

The likes of the Great Gumba and Kerry the Bard watch, listen and learn all year, to hopefully find one mortal who is worthy of transcending the veil and become one of the immortals. For this is how the Great Gumba himself became an immortal, The Great White Sage bestowed this privilege onto the Great One many moons ago.

Tonight is a night of much magic and rejoicing, the Gods of the four points are in attendance, the elemental Gods are also present, for tonight one shall transcend the veil.

Tonight, one shall become part of the immortal world and join forces with Kerry the Bard, The Great Gumba, Catherine of Kahtadin and others, to watch over the lesser hordes.

Let us understand what this means, tonight one shall become part of the whole. One shall be named. One shall learn of their great heritage, their heritage within their name.

Let us learn of EPONA.

A Celtic Goddess:
The Goddess of horses, The Great Mare, Mother Goddess, protectress of horses, dogs, prosperity and healing. A Celtic deity allied with trade in and domestic use of horses.
Concerned with healing and the fertility of domestic animals. Originating in Alesia in the heartland of Gallic resistance, during the final stand of Julius Caesar. The only Celtic goddess to have been worshiped in Rome itself and her popularity was spread throught the empire, (see also Morrigan). Her festival is celebrated on December 18th.
Epona is typically seen riding sidesaddle or in association with horses. She also sometimes is depicted holding cornucopia sheaves of grain and other fruits and sometimes with dogs. At Arm ancon she rides in a cart reminiscent of the Tour of other northern fertility goddesses.

Let us celebrate this new immortal.
Come forward into the light.
Tonight, you become an immortal, you join the ranks of
The Great Gumba, Kerry the Bard, Catherine of Kahtadin, and Prince Loughdaugh.

Tonight you become part of the Legends of the White Sage; you are and will remain part of the legacy that is the RED BOOK.
On this hallowed eve you will be empowered to do great and wondrous things, things that are only limited by your mind and will.
We the immortals bestow upon you your first set of immortal reignments, wear them well, for they will protect you from all that is evil, all that may wish to harm you.

It will protect you as long as you are true of heart and pure of intent.

Woven by the hands of the Bard herself, made with love and care.

Spun with the threads of the cloak of Antioch and that of the Golden Fleece. It shall serve you well in times of need.
May it keep you warm and dry.

Now, your weapon.

As your namesake Epona, you are from a long and revered line of Druids, (tree worshipers), you are a keeper of animals. A weapon is only for defense.
To you we present a dagger, slender and nimble, like your namesake Epona.
Notches on both sides of the blade, to remind those who would do you harm that you do have teeth and will bite back.
A Celtic cross in the handle, to remind you of your Druidian heritage, a keeper of the faith and nature.
A Golden phoenix adorns the hilt a symbol of rebirth, for whatever dies shall rise again.
Lastly two gold medallions, a symbol of prosperity and wealth, that which you freely share with Prince Loughdaugh.

Together with your cloak, you have been adorned with much.

Let us ask the gods for their blessing, and let them allow you to become one of the immortals.

All welcome, Princess Holepona. (HOL-E-PONE-A)

All that are present, Mortal, Immortal, and spiritual give your blessing this night to the one that shall be known from this day forward as Princess Holepona

For she is a good woman, a righteous woman and a woman of deep conviction.

The Great Gumba, Kerry the Bard, and Catherine of Kahtadin all vouch for her and ask that you allow her to cross the veil and become one of the immortals.

All that are here, past, present and future, all that have gathered and will gather, this is a great night, for tonight,
Princess Holepona. Was allowed to cross the veil and join her brethren the immortals.

So on this night the Great Gumba, has gained new Allies in the fight for good.

Huzzah to The Great Gumba

Huzzah to Kerry the Bard

Huzzah to Catherine of Kahtadin

Huzzah to Prince LOUGHDAIGH the keeper of the immortal flame.

Huzzah to Princess Holepona!!!!

So it was written into the RED BOOK.

So sayeth the Great White Sage.

The Red Book is a Journal of the life and adventures of the Great Gumba and Kerry the Bard. It is a compilation of stories over many years, most of which reside in the real Red Book. Yes it exists, A Red Leather Bound Book, With Parchment pages scribed by the Gray Sage of the Mans Fields of Dreams. A copy resides in the capable hands of the Great White Sage of the Northron regions.
Every once in a while a long lost tale bubbles up from the depths of purgatory, a tale created but never written. A tale written but never recorded.

Following is one such tale:

A Tale from the Bards Perspective:

For many many glorious years The Great Gumba and Kerry the Bard lived an enchanted life, which they shared joyously with their very dearest friends, The Red Prince, Otter Queen, The Otter Princess, Sapphire Sue, Dark Roger, Catherine of Khatadin, Karen the Procreator and The Star of David.

The Feasts and revelry enjoyed by all were many, often and great. This was to change very suddenly for these great friends. For unknown to all a very LARGE DARK CLOUD would envelope and overwhelm The Great Gumba and Kerry the Bard on their path to share another mighty feast with their friends.
This very LARGE DARK CLOUD made the path, which the Great Gumba and Kerry the Bard traveled towards their very dear friends, almost impossible to follow.

The LARGE DARK CLOUD carried a very dark, powerful, angry, spell, which would overtake and enslave The Great Gumba and Kerry the Bard. They both fought against the spell of angry enslavement, but it was to fast and insidious for them to destroy.
For this spell was created by the White Haired Hermit and Racing Ma, not intentionally mind you, but from the anger and fear they felt as the darkness crept in.
The bond between The Great Gumba and The White Haired Hermit and Racing Ma was so deep and entangled, that it was almost impossible for the Great Gumba to break.

To the Horror of all their great friends, the Gumba and Bard simply vanished without a clue as to what had happened to them. Their great friends thought they could hear the HOWL of the Great Gumba and tried to follow the sound of this awful noise, but to no avail. Although they would try and try to find their great friends in order that they may help them through, what they knew deep in their hearts, was something horrific, the cloud of darkness was to strong even for them.
They despaired for their friends, for they knew if this ANGRY CLOUD OF DARKNESS was strong enough to hold the likes of the Mighty Immortals, how could this spell be fought?

Kerry the Bard was not completely taken by this spell, this ANGRY DARK CLOUD, but if the spell had been cast by only one, she could have sung her songs of love and devotion to her beloved Gumba and win against this awful battle of souls.
Alas, the spell cast by both, was to strong for her to break alone.
With despair, the Bard continued to try to release her beloved and not more than once, wished her beloved friend the Otter Queen could be by her side.
For the Bard knew that with her great friend by her side they could battle this horrendous spell together as one.
For those who do not know, unlike the Bard, the otter Queens Harangue of Horror could break almost any spell cast by mortal or immortal alike, no matter how strong.

Alas, it was not to be. The Cloud of Darkness was to strong; even the Bards melodic tones of calling could not be heard by the Otter Queen. Although it is said that every once in a while, The Otter Queen would think she heard her friends song on the wind. She tried and tried to listen, to pinpoint, but no, it was not to be. The Dark Cloud was to string and would summon mighty winds to Wisk away the Bards sons of calling as if they never were.

The White Haired Hermit and Racing Ma (Dubbed Raging Ma by the Bard) made sure the Cloud of Darkness remained Large and Dark, erstwhile enslaving the Gumba and Bard in the castle of horror with no way of contacting their dear friends for help.

The Great Gumba and Kerry the Bard knew that, together, they could and would be able to battle the CLOUD OF DARKNESS and eventually win against its dark horror.
For as all their friends know the love that the Gumba and his Bard share is a very strong and unbreakable bond, for they are bound together by their souls.
This made their love stronger than any spell could ever be, no matter whom or what had created it.

This great battle fought between soul mates and THE CLOUD OF DARKNESS was long and fiercely fought by the Gumba and his Bard. As the battle wore on the wounds to the Great Gumba and Kerry the Bard became deep and started to fester with the stink of death, deep enough to cause most Immortal souls to pass from this world, but the Gumba and Bard are not like most Immortals, as well as their great friends knew, for their souls are bound and entwined with each other.

The Battle raged, the Cloud of Darkness grew and waned, the Great Gumba and Kerry the Bard held together as one with their souls entwined and the knowledge that their dearest friends where all waiting for the mighty Immortals to return to them.

With each new day the Gumba and Bard would renew their fight against the the DARK CLOUD with new fierceness, because not only did the memories of what once was, shared with other mighty Immortals give them strength, but the strength of the cloud seemed to be weakening.

With each day, a beautiful golden mist could be seen in the very far away horizon.
The same horizon that the Gumba and his Bard now remembered, was where the Castle of Grey Meadows in the Mans Field of Dreams lie, and where their mighty and dear friends awaited their return.
The CLOUD OF DARKNESS was weakening, two long years they had fought, side by side, gnashing, gnarling and singing.

One morning the Great Gumba and Kerry the Bard awoke to a very eerie quiet. The great bond of the spell which held the Great Gumba to The White Haired Hermit and Racing Ma had been dispelled and was no longer capable of drowning out the Bards song of love and devotion to her beloved Gumba, nor the calling to their great friends.

Alas, the Great Gumbas and Kerry the Bards wounds were deep and near fatal. The Bard knew she was very close to losing her beloved Great Gumba. Once again the Bard wished her friends where here to help her with the Great Gumba, to pull him back from the illness that was enveloping him into darkness. The same darkness that entrapped them both.

This was not to be as of yet. With each day that the Bard nursed her beloved Gumba and herself back to health, the Bard became aware that her songs were beginning to make the cloud of darkness begin to disperse. This was due to the White haired Hermits ability to keep his magic strong without the Racing Ma beside him.
The weaker the white Haired Hermit became, the clearer the skies became and the Great Gumba and the Bards path to the Castle of Gray Meadows and their friends became clear.

The Great Gumba and Kerry the Bards wounds were such that they needed much time to heal.

As the Day of the Great feast of Passover grew near, the Gumba and Bard look forward to their reunion with the Red Prince and Clan.

The Great Gumba and Kerry the Bard hoped their battles have not kept them too long from their great friends or the wounds they endure have not changed them overly much.

May the Feast of Passover be full of Love, forgiveness and happiness for all. May the paths that we all take from the Feast of Passover always bring us back to each other as our lives are surely meant to do and only with good tidings, love and happiness for all.

HUZZAH!!!!

So sayeth Kerry the Bard.

Yes, the time had come, the Otter Queens children had evolved into Curmudgeons.

Now this is not a bad thing persay, just a natural cycle of life.
All children become curmudgeons at least for a little while.

The Otter princess had returned from her studies in magic for the winter solstice, my how she has changed. A young lady now resides where once a child lived.
However, this is not to say she still doesn't have a lot to learn about life and responsibility.

Ereen, the second oldest, fiesty, fiery and brazen, has the Red Prince wrapped around her little finger.
Samanthe, the third child, loud and precoucius, full of mischief.
Kiera, the youngest, a fiery mix of the Red Prince and The Otter Queen.
Inside her lies the soul of a warrior and the wisdom of the Counsel of Twelve.

All in all, a wonderful trip to the Mans Fields of Dreams.

Lord Simone and his bride were in attendance as well as some neighboring lessor hoardes.

One in particular, was of great amusement to the Great Gumba. she was a true Druid, a tree worshiper, yet she wore furs, which is against all Druidian teachings.
She had a sharp tounge and an aire of superority about her, even tho she was in the presence of some of the greatest immortals ever. A true new age Druid, confused about who and what she is and her placement in the universe.

Her husband, once a mighty warrior, had been bewitched by the spell of gold things.
Gold was all he craved, not companionship, not the glory of battle, not even feasting and wenches, just gold.
This is a spell cast by the great dark wizard, Libearael.
He sits atop a mighty mountain and bewitches the lessor hoardes with a green fog that floats over the land. The Gumbas Wicked gas does combat this evil, however the Otter Queen had forbidden the use of the Wicked Gas on Eve's Anew, so the Lessor Hoardes had to suffer the fog of green.
The fog is green so as to represent the two objects of it's spells, ENVY and Frogishness. (Frogishness is the want to sit and puff up ones chest as to say, Look what I have)!

The Gumba felt sad for the Lessor Hoardes, for he could help, but was forbidden.
He dare not unleash the wrath of the Hurrange of Horror, that would be bad.

The Gumba, Red Prince and Star of David did feast and drink mead, told stories of battles waged, foes vanqueshed and pretty things.
Just like old times, for Immortals remember well who is friend and who is foe.

Kerry the Bard and the Otter Queen, such a sight to behold, two of the most beutiful women in the universe, all Immortals crave them, but the Gumba and Prince guard them carefully, for they know what they have.

To all who have journey'd this Eve's Anew, may the wealth and prosperity of friendship find you also.

Huzzah

So Sayeth the Great White Sage of the Northron Regions.