A Short History, part 3 of 5

[Doktor Howl]

King Pellinore got stuck.  

It wasn't his fault, mind you, he was just chasing the Questing Beast, as he always had.  He understood the problems facing King Arthur, but the Questing Beast needed him (as evidenced by it's illness while King Pellinore was distracted partying with King Arthur's knights)...And while the affairs of Kings and men are important, an archetype has to do what an archetype has to do.

So when the story of King Arthur reached its tragic end, Pellinore is apparently killed by King Lot of Orkeny's family.  His body, however was never found, and the truth is that he wasn't actually dead...Because at some point he became an idea, and we all know that ideas can't be killed.

Well, not easily.

With all of his friends gone, and no narrative to sustain him, he chased the Questing Beast for years and years, until one day he heard The Noise.  It sounded like arrows whizzing by, a few at a time, and occasionally like the rush of a great river...And the air smelled foul.  Not foul like a village midden, more like the smell of a village burning.

Heading toward the noise, he encountered a young lady, a girl really, reading a book beneath a tree.  He glimpsed the title of this rather well-bound (by his standards) tome, which was The Once and Future King.  The young lady looked up at him and his horse, and tilted her head to one side.

"Well, you're an odd one", she said, "Why are you dressed for war?"

"Well, I AM a King", Pellinore replied, "And a questing knight.  Tell me, have you seen a rather large serpentine beast, recently?"

"No", the lady replied, "I have not.  Furthermore, why is your armor in such a state?"

Pellinore looked himself over, and was aghast.  His shining armor was displaying corrosion, and there were in fact bits of moss poking out of the joints.

"I have been on a quest", he sheepishly replied, "and I have no squire."

"Oh.  I suppose that's excusable, then.  But you really must turn around.  If you head much further in this direction, you'll die."

"How is that?", Pellinore asked, "Are there brigands ahead?"

"Oh, to be sure, bandits and brigands and wicked men.  And an Awful Thing."

"Well, dealing with such is the providence of a King.", Pellinore responded, "I shall deal with these ruffians and this Awful Thing".

"Suit yourself", the woman replied, and went back to reading her book.

Pellinore rode on for another mile or so, and the noise grew louder.  Surely, this must be a beast of legend, worthy of the last of Arthur's friends.  After a time, he chanced upon another young lady, this one in her 20s or so.  She was also reading a book, which he saw to be The Book of Merlyn.  

"Oh, hi!", the young lady said.

"Good day, my lady.  Have you perchance seen a serpentine beast pass this way?"

"Heavens no", the lady responded, "Had I seen such a thing, I'd be up this tree.  Tell me, Sir, why do you ride a horse?  Why are you prepared for battle"?

Pellinore gave the same response he had given to the first lady.  She then asked him why his face was so gaunt.  Pellinore spit on the inside of his shield and polished it with his hankerchief, and was mortified to see that he was no longer the hale and hearty King that drank port with Gawaine.  He face was, in fact, lined worse than Merlyn's had been, and his beard was long and white, so white that it was almost transparent.

The lady gave him a pitying look, and then said, "Turn back, King Pellinore, for there is an Awful Thing ahead, and if you chance upon it, it will surely kill you."

Again, Pellinore repeated his response to the same admonition as had been given to him by the first lady, and spurred his horse to a canter.

The noise was quite loud, now, apparently just over the next rise in the forest...And here was a third lady, this one in her early middle age.  She, too, was reading a book, The Glastonbury Fraud.

This woman had no questions...She simply looked Pellinore up and down, and looked very sad.

"Sir, I suppose it will do no good to tell you to turn back."

"No, my lady, I must seek out evil men, and the Awful Thing, and deal with it.  There seems to be nobody else willing to do the task."

"But you are out of time."

"How do you mean, 'out of time'?  I can hear the Awful Thing, less than a mile away."

"You'll see.  I suppose I should come with you.  There is no danger to me, for I am not out of time."

Pellinore decided she was fey, and made no objection as the lady walked beside him, and in a very short time, they crested the hill.

Pellinore was shocked.  The forest ended, and there was a ribbon of stone, with horseless carriages passing by at horrendous speeds.  This seemed to be the noise he'd heard.  A strange metallic beast flew overhead, and beyond the ribbon of stone was a vast field of manor houses, some in good condition, some run down.  In the distance, he could see mighty castles stretching hundreds and hundreds of feet in the air.  The smell was terrible.

"This truly is an Awful Thing", Pellinore gasped.

"No, that is just the world", the woman said, "The Awful Thing is that you have no place in it.  You are stuck in a fracture of a time out of joint.  You are a loose end, and loose ends must be mended.  Or cut off.  There is no place for you in this time, in this world, at least as you are."

"Then I shall return to the forest", Pellinore began, but he saw that the woman was gone.

Turning, he saw that the forest was gone.  There were endless miles of houses and shops where the forest had been, just a minute ago.

Pellinore looked down at his fine suit and his leather shoes, shook his head, and then began to walk toward the castles.  The Questing Beast was there, he thought...No, wait, the DEAL was there.  It was there, and just waiting to be made.  All he had to do was chase it.  Just chase that mechanical rabbit, just keep on after the prize.  

"Why HAD he been chasing some beast?", he wondered as he walked, "That does no good for the bottom line."

To be continued.

[LMNO]

Oh.




Oh.




LMNO
-wishes he didn't get it.

[Doktor Howl]

I'm going to retool that one a bit.  I felt rushed.

But I'm glad the horror of it seeped through.

[Richter]

The Horror is there, no questions.  It's more horror at the banality of modern life, though. As if the propaganda is Lawful good, and the way to sucess is Neutral Evil.

Still really liked it though.  The subject / sentiment I'd expect more out of Neil Gaiman, but this cuts to the chase better, like one of his Lawrence Talbot short stories.

[Doktor Howl]

The Horror is there, no questions.  It's more horror at the banality of modern life, though. As if the propaganda is Lawful good, and the way to sucess is Neutral Evil.

Still really liked it though.  The subject / sentiment I'd expect more out of Neil Gaiman, but this cuts to the chase better, like one of his Lawrence Talbot short stories.

Well, I was thinking that people used to (supposedly) go searching for the sake of searching, so to speak (especially the English).

Now it's all very small.  Very mundane.  Very robotic.  Quest for profit, not for adventure.

Doctor Livingston was an idiot for being talked back into civilization, Richter.

[Freeky]

 

Its very good, though.

[Doktor Howl]

Its very good, though.

?

[Jenne]

This one left me feeling quite sad and like some great effort has just been wasted.  Wonderful imagery, as in the last two.

[Freeky]

Its very good, though.

?

It was sad. And depressing.

Even so, I liked it.

[Doktor Howl]

Its very good, though.

?

It was sad. And depressing.

Even so, I liked it.

Oh, okay.

I based the three ladies on TGG, you, and Enabler, respectively.  I tried to fit your personalities to the three ladies.  TGG being a little inquisitive and dismissive, you being cheerful, and Enabler being matter of fact.

[Freeky]

Its very good, though.

?

It was sad. And depressing.

Even so, I liked it.

Oh, okay.

I based the three ladies on TGG, you, and Enabler, respectively.  I tried to fit your personalities to the three ladies.  TGG being a little inquisitive and dismissive, you being cheerful, and Enabler being matter of fact.

Oh yeah, that part came across pretty good. But it was the fate of King Pellinore, and the fact that noone has any real adventure anymore that was sad.

[Doktor Howl]

Its very good, though.

?

It was sad. And depressing.

Even so, I liked it.

Oh, okay.

I based the three ladies on TGG, you, and Enabler, respectively.  I tried to fit your personalities to the three ladies.  TGG being a little inquisitive and dismissive, you being cheerful, and Enabler being matter of fact.

Oh yeah, that part came across pretty good. But it was the fate of King Pellinore, and the fact that noone has any real adventure anymore that was sad.

The fate of Kings is rarely pretty, but this was a bad end.

I always liked Pellinore in The Once and Future King.  He was this really nice, daft old man that just wanted to be an idea.  Sort of like Don Quixote.

[Freeky]

Its very good, though.

?

It was sad. And depressing.

Even so, I liked it.

Oh, okay.

I based the three ladies on TGG, you, and Enabler, respectively.  I tried to fit your personalities to the three ladies.  TGG being a little inquisitive and dismissive, you being cheerful, and Enabler being matter of fact.

Oh yeah, that part came across pretty good. But it was the fate of King Pellinore, and the fact that noone has any real adventure anymore that was sad.

The fate of Kings is rarely pretty, but this was a bad end.

I always liked Pellinore in The Once and Future King.  He was this really nice, daft old man that just wanted to be an idea.  Sort of like Don Quixote.

I tried to read Don Quixote once. I had some trouble staying with it, because of how archaic some of the wording was. I should read it again.

[Richter]

The Horror is there, no questions.  It's more horror at the banality of modern life, though. As if the propaganda is Lawful good, and the way to sucess is Neutral Evil.

Still really liked it though.  The subject / sentiment I'd expect more out of Neil Gaiman, but this cuts to the chase better, like one of his Lawrence Talbot short stories.

Well, I was thinking that people used to (supposedly) go searching for the sake of searching, so to speak (especially the English).

Now it's all very small.  Very mundane.  Very robotic.  Quest for profit, not for adventure.

Doctor Livingston was an idiot for being talked back into civilization, Richter.

Yeah, I hadn't even touched on the questing part of it.  
I think I see though.  There's no more frontier, no more great unknown, no more dragons to slay, stobor to hunt, and the horde has sat the fuck down and started lending us money until they own our asses.  We're just left ina  big circle, everything mapped, coodinated and connected, chewing our own beards to keep busy.  

[Doktor Howl]

The Horror is there, no questions.  It's more horror at the banality of modern life, though. As if the propaganda is Lawful good, and the way to sucess is Neutral Evil.

Still really liked it though.  The subject / sentiment I'd expect more out of Neil Gaiman, but this cuts to the chase better, like one of his Lawrence Talbot short stories.

Well, I was thinking that people used to (supposedly) go searching for the sake of searching, so to speak (especially the English).

Now it's all very small.  Very mundane.  Very robotic.  Quest for profit, not for adventure.

Doctor Livingston was an idiot for being talked back into civilization, Richter.

Yeah, I hadn't even touched on the questing part of it.  
I think I see though.  There's no more frontier, no more great unknown, no more dragons to slay, stobor to hunt, and the horde has sat the fuck down and started lending us money until they own our asses.  We're just left ina  big circle, everything mapped, coodinated and connected, chewing our own beards to keep busy.  

There's a whole universe to explore.

But we wimped out, after we beat the Russians to the moon.  We were small.  Unworthy.