December Promotions

[Ozymandias]

The man once known as Ramses slumped back in his chair, face contorting in agony. It was a bizarre scene in his normally serene office: amid the trickle of sunlight peering through the last of winter's clouds outside, the cozy warmth of the granite architecture thanks to days of such long-missed heat, and gentle creak of his oak furniture, a steel vise seemed firmly fixed in midair while slowly closing its absolute and lethal grip on the old man's head.

 

Small noises of gurgling and gasping were all Ozymandias could manage as his skull creaked once in protest.

 

The vise tightened. His arms hung listlessly over the arms of his chair. His legs kicked feebly. A faint, sobbing scream found its way to the back of his throat, where it quickly clambered out as a rising shriek.

 

Ozymandias' hands convulsed upwards as if in supplication.

 

His bones groaned.

 

Then as mysteriously as it had begun, the ordeal was ended as the old Egyptian fairly shot to the floor seat first, and collapsed in a heap. The vise snapped shut and vanished.

 

 

Ozymandias lay like a fallen marionette for he knew not how long before finally regaining consciousness and strength enough to haul himself back into his seat. Putting oh-so careful fingers to his temples, he rubbed gingerly, leaning back in the chair. He sat up quickly, dropping one hand and dabbing in bewilderment at his scalp with the other.

 

His fingers went from head to nose, and he took two long sniffs. With confusion and wonder, each finger was tasted, one by one. "...mysterious ways...", he mumbled to himself.

 

With a wince and a slow, wry grin Ozymandias took up his quill. He shook his head. "Butter", he laughed.

He unrolled a sheet of papyrus, dipped his pen, and began to write.

 

 

Oz's note:

Sorry this is incomplete; my weekend is being spectacularly nonconducive to creative writing, so I need to wait a bit longer before I can properly finish promotions. For now, I thought it only fair to give y'all what I have so far for waiting so patiently. It's really the least I could do. To all of you who have already noticed that mysterious change in your member rank, and according board permissions, congrats. To all of you: I'll have the rest by tomorrow night, if not sooner.

[Ozymandias]

You carry on a fine tradition. One much older than this keep we sit in now. One much older than books, even than writing. Storytelling.

 

Make no mistake; that's what it is - that's what it all is. To understand why the sun rises in the east and falls in the west, men had to make up stories. Where other people lived, IF other people lived, what the stars are, how does a fish live, the mysteries and mazes of the heart...before we could have any idea of what tools we would need to understand, before we knew how to get there, before we had the faintest idea of where to begin the search without aimlessly wandering for a lifetime, we made stories. We needed them.

We still do.

 

Today, we know the way of our journeys of understanding, our searches, but like any path, it can be snowed under, wandered away from, even completely obscured. So now the stories light the way, and keep us on the path. Luke Skywalker, Hercules, Faithful John, The Ugly Duckling, Superman, Anansi, Odin, Paul Bunyan, Atreyu, Sherlock Holmes, Morrie Scwartz, Steve Irwin, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jesus, they and more point the way. Many of these make their own stories, many do not. Either way, the power they have and shall have, comes from us talking about them. It comes from us telling each other the story.

 

So be proud. Be persistent. Be true.

 

Even if you never know when, or who, your audience is out there. And you give them something great.

 

 

 

Mardrax, Kikuyu Black Paws, and Degorram, you're now Pages...and hey, who knows? Maybe one day you'll be running the place. Congratulations. :>)

[Appy]

Congratulations All!

[Katzaniel]

All well-deserved. And yes, while now you're running around the place looking at the new places that have opened up, I don't doubt that at least one of you, and probably all three, will soon be lending your much-appreciated skills and opinions in the running of this place.

 

Oh.. and congrats.