...
And it is said, that Love hath no power over it, and the
Demon who has no Body, and the Body without a Spirit, shall be one. And
Those who shall know the Truth of things shall be taken from us, like a
Cleansing breath. And we shall be deaf, dumb, and blind to the dangers.
 ...
And She will carry the Darkness upon her, though she struggles not with
it,
For like a tapestry, the Darkness and She shall be Woven together as one.
And lost He shall be, as many, amongst the flickering darkness, 
For in that Tym, as in Dark tyms Past,
Honour accorded Blood shallst be witheld; 
Instead, granted unto those of the Outside.
...
Lo, even now is the seed of Darkness upon and within the House
And when such Seed has taken Root thrice and twice,
Then shall it be They who shall be Two in One and
Thrice shall they be Two as Three, as One is wrung from the First.
And the Seed is carried by That which bears
The expanse of Tym, Outside of Tym. And Lo it is
thee, and that which thou carries.
...
When the lost children of the House that was found be united, will the
Serpents writhe in pain, and the Bells toll doom for the House.
When Two who are Three, have come from One lost, 
Source of a Soule in twain, one lost in a Shadoe the other has become,
Bane to the Blackened Thyrd in ages long by. . .Then, under blood-red sky
With shifting stone, Serpent's Truth shall be layd to the bone.
...
Sickness and Death with fists of cold iron shall hold fast upon thee
Who would steel the House against these happenings -
For so Spake the Serpent, And such fortold, 
And once the House has broken, only one shall be True.
...
With mighty Vengeance and fearfull Rage the Corruptors shall discard
Those blocking their Path.  For their Field is wide and mightly plowed,
And sown with Spirits for eons past.
Yet fear not only their Arm and their Sword.  With the Hammer of Greed
And Anvil of Vice, they shall Forge Souls to suit their liking; Twisting
With Fear and Bathing in Decay, Perversions shall be made to come unto
thee. 
...
'Yea, though the powers rise against me, I shall not falter. I will
stand up to their assaults on both my mind and body. I shall smite them
where they lay. And when the one comes who cannot be defeated, I must
summon her spirit, and only by rejoining will we become strong.'
 ...
And the land shall be Healed and the House that was Restored will
Be Restored once again. And all shall rejoice throughout the land.

-Excerpts from throughout the /Lost Prophecies of the Serpent/, as
recorded by Chloe Tinzien.
================================================================
	The prophecy is written in a musty tome that presumably lies
somewhere within Tinzienways, hidden for generations or even centuries.
It is unknown if Chloe was the actual prophet who fortold these events, or
discovered/divined them elsewhere, and recorded them in a book.  However,
roughly two years before the birth of the child Macnamara, Chloe
sequestered herself for several weeks.  Murmured rumors abounded as to her
activities, but even after she emerged from her chambers, she would not
disclose her purpose.  At this point many noticed that she somehow seemed
grimer, as if she had aged several years in several weeks, and life seemed
to weigh heavily on her.  A dark sobriety dulled her eyes and turned down
the corners of her mouth.  She laughed, but not as often or as loudly as
before.  She smiled, but without the sparkle that had brightened her
friends' days.  A cloud seemed to hover over her.
	[You see, for several reasons which won't be detailed here, she
was convinced that the children the prophecy referred to were 'destined'
to be either her children or her descendants.]
	Upon the birth of her first child, Macnamara, Chloe breathed a
sigh of relief.  All the omens and portents seemed to say that her
prophecies did not refer to Macnamara, which in turn implied that the rest
of her offspring were indeed freed of this prophecy.
	When her second child was born, a gloom once again settled over
Chloe, for though the boy was not in danger of fulfilling the prophecy,
the seeds of ill omens rested in him.  His children, or at most, his
grandchildren, were the ones that Chloe had forseen (or had discovered
someone else forseeing) in the prophecy, and this hurt her as much as if
it had been her own child.
	His name was Lotyl (LA-tl), and he lived a fast and fearsome life.
For a short time, his escapades were the talk of Tinzienways - his way
with women, his ready humor, and ample charm succeeded in making him a
popular youth.  Alas, he did not live to see the age of fifty, but was
struck down in his prime in a pride-fueled duel with an elder chaosian.
Two months later, his wife gave birth to their only child, a small fair
baby named Avaena (a-VAE-na).  The mother was warned by an enigmatic and
aging Chloe that the child carried the seed of darkness from her father,
and it would surely bloom in Avaena's children.
	Avaena grew up to be a dark and bitter child.  Some claimed it was
because of her father's death preceeding her birth.  The mother at times
believed it to be the manifestation of the 'seed of darkness' that Chloe
had warned her about.  Whatever it was, Avaena hardly had the easy popular
ways of her father, prefering instead solitude and study.  In her studies
and dark broodings, Avaena discover her grandmother's prophecies.  She too
became convinced that the fortold children would come from amongst the
family, and with further research (and after prodding her mother, and
being told what Chloe had disclosed long ago), that her children would
bear the brunt of the curse.  The prophecy had become something of a
family secret - it was agreed that no one outside the immediate family
needed to, or should know about it, in the hope that it could be averted.
	Centuries later, Avaena bore her first child.  No one in Chaos was
privy to this fact, for though she conceived in chaos, she spent her term
and delivered in shadow.  She returned a few years later, alone, sad and
bitter.  In her absence, the House had gained a new retainer couple, who
had a fine young son.  The son grew in age and eventually swore
fealty to the House himself, taking on the duties of his 'father' when the
older man fell into infirmity.
	Within two years of her return from her first disappearance,
Avaena disappeared without notice yet again.  This time, however, she was
only gone for three months.  When she returned, she became a recluse,
seeing few or none, and spending her hours in solitude.  It was said that
she avoided the son, and blinked back tears with a bittersweet smile when she
couldn't escape confrontation with the energetic young boy.
===========================================================================
Before I continue, I need to fill most of you in on a little Crinos
legend.  Long forgotten, it was told in ages lost in the past to frighten
little children into doing what they were told, as sort of a boogey-man
story ("If you don't do what I say, ShadowHeart will get you!").  The
legend is based on real events that occured almost 12000years ago, Crinos
time, and so has been all but forgotten in the 'modern' day.  It will
necessarily be a shortened form of the legend, as the real one that I have
in mind is a novel-spanning saga...  Keep in mind, a shortened novel can
still be a novella....=) (And please forgive my sloppy writing style
towards the end- by that point I just wanted to finish it...)
===========================================================================
	The elder settled down at his seat by the campfire, pulling his
cloak of fur and feathers close around him. He mumbled a few phrases and
threw a handfull of powder onto the flames.  Flaring up with a soft hiss,
they lept brightly for a time, their yellow sparks dancing upwards towards
Luna in a winding spiral,  blown to the east  on a gentle breeze.  It was
Luna's departure, and the thin crescent of a moon seemed to be balanced on
the horizon, as if holding some precious liquid, ready to spill.
	The elder waited in silence until the fire had died back down.
Throughout his wordless wait, glowing eyes reflected the firelight from
around the circle back at him.  There were members of several tribes here
tonight, and the hunt had been rewarding - they would all eat well for
several days.
	"ShadowHeart," The elder began, and a cool wind blew.  It ruffled
fur and hair around the circle, but the cold seemed to bite to the bone.
The elder felt it too, and wondered whether it was the wind or the name
that caused the chill.
	"BlackTongue. DarkEye. LunaDeath. TraitorFang." The venerated
elder listed the dark names of this oft-cursed individual.  Listeners
shifted uneasily and glanced over their shoulders into the night as the
elder paused after each name.  Friends and lovers pushed closer together,
seeking warmth and protection in a warm embrace or furry flank from the
images that the names conjured in their head and the chill the names
conjured on their skin.
	"It is said that she was called GoldenBreeze once, but we have
forgotten that.  It is said that she was a true Verdimm once, serving Luna
in good faith, but we have forgotten that.  It is said that she once was
an honorable Diecus [were-Lion], and a mystic of the One Tribe, but we
have forgotten that.  It is said that Luna had even smiled down upon her,
and blessed her with the gift of Dea, but we have forgotten that too."
	A log split in the fire with a loud crack, spilling ashes and
releasing a glowing expanse of sparks to dance and leap upward.  The elder
watched the glowing red points of light dance and leap as they drifted
upward on the hot smoke.
	"I will tell you now what we have forgotten, and why it is that we
forget."
	"Long ago, in the time of the One Tribe, a Deicus named
GoldenBreeze was born.  From an early age it was seen that she was taken
with the Sha-Crin and would dedicate her life to the service of Luna.  She
was at peace with the spirits, and would often spend hours communing with
them.  Some jokingly suggested that she enjoyed the company of the spirit
better than the company of her fellow Verdimm.
	"It seemed as though, with training and time, GoldenBreeze might
become the next Deicus Sha-Cri of the One Tribe, as Luna had already
blessed her with a gift of Dea.  The God Magic had not come cheaply for
GoldenBreeze though, for many of the elder Sha-Cri council were jealous of
her youth and the apparent favor that Luna had shown her.  They heaped
embarassment upon injustice on GoldenBreeze's shoulders, but she bore the
bruises with the pride of a Deicus fulfilling her holy duty.  She was sent
on the errands the elders did not wish to bother with, or believed were
below her.  GoldenBreeze knew of the elders' jealousy, but did not care,
for Luna smiled down on her, and had blessed her with a soulmate.  A true
love such as is seen by few in a lifetime.  Though both young, the bond
between GoldenBreeze and LongClaw was undeniable, and none could
disapprove of their union.
	"That is why it nearly destroyed GoldenBreeze when she herself
found LongClaw hanging dead from a Laiko tree.  His skin had been flayed
from his body, and his beautiful golden mane lay shaven and burnt, below
him on the packed earth. The two had meant to rendezvous beneath the tree
on the plain and wile away the afternoon hours. It is said that for five
days and five nights, she stood watch over LongClaw's body, her tears
watering the ground under the Laiko tree until she could cry no longer. To
this day, the Trillit grasses grow beneath the Laiko tree, their golden
stalks and small red flowers reminding us of LongClaw's death.  On the
sixth day GoldenBreeze stumbled back into the camp of the One Tribe,
carrying LongClaw's body in her arms, his dried blood smearing her face
and mingled with her tears.
	"It was unknown what had happened to LongClaw...The best and
wisest Sha-Cri were unable to scry his death, and when the rest of the
tribe scouted the area they found no trace of anything or anyone.  There
was no villian to blame, no evil to hunt.  GoldenBreeze could not be
consoled, and spent her days in misery, her nights in open-eyed grief.
She had locked this bitterness into her heart and it colored her days and
nights with grief.  Perhaps, in time, her soul would have been healed.
Perhaps..."
	The elder paused for a moment, flicking a glowing ash off the edge
of his cloak. "This is what we have forgotten.  Remember this.  Now I
shall tell you why we forget...
	"Within the season, a blight came upon the land.  It took some
time for the Verdimm to notice, but plants were dying  off, and more and
more hunters were returning empty handed.  It was a gentle progression,
and no one questioned it until almost too late.  When a young warrior did
raise a concern, it was he who was sent with GoldenBreeze to investigate
the strange patch of black grasses that had sprung up along the western
plain.  Leaving on a night of Luna's Refuge, GoldenBreeze felt ill omens
were at hand.  For several days, GoldenBreeze and the young warrior
traveled across the plains, following the setting sun.  In the middle of
the fourth day, as the Sun was beginning to descend from his highest seat
in the sky, the pair mounted the crest of a hill and beheld a sight that
made their blood run cold.
	"A curse had settled upon the land.  For almost as far as their
eyes could behold, the two travelers could see nothing but black.  The
grasses had become darker than the night sky, and the plain  seemed to
shiver and waver in their sight, as if they watched through water.  Not
too far off, a tree  stood withered and twisted, black against a black
field,  its leaves still in the afternoon breeze.  An eerie silence seemed
to /emenate/ from the field, casting an unatural hush over the plain."
	The elder sighed and continued,"They spent many  hours debating
what to do, and when finally  they had decided to scout further into the
black  field, it was night, and sleep called to them louder than
curiosity.  
	"GoldenBreeze returned alone to the Tribe, a week later.  She was
greeted with a mixture of joy and sorrow, for in her absence, two more
Verdimm had been found killed and mutilated like her beloved LongClaw.
When she revealed that WindTooth, the warrior she had been accompanied by,
had suffered the same fate, the dead rose to four.
	"The Elders of the One Tribe, encouraged by  GoldenBreeze's
reports, ignored the blackened plains and instead hunted that which hunted
them.  But it was to no avail, for the murders went unpunished, the crime
unsolved.  And the deaths continued.  The mutilated bodies were found
across the plains,  the hide flayed from their bodies.  It was at this
point that rumors of the Black Tribe began.  It was said that a Tribe of
Verdimm had been seen, roaming the blackened plains, hunting down any who
would  interlope.  These Verdimm, it seems, were not Luna's blessed, for
their pelts were jet black in color, matching the grasses and trees
amongst which they roamed.
	"And with the appearance of this second Tribe, GoldenBreeze's
manner began to change.  She would sneak out of camp for some unknown
purpose every night.  Friends grew concerned over a new temper that had
developed, and her sleep was disturbed by wild shouts and feverish
mumblings.  Spurning all inquiries after her health, or offers of
assistance, GoldenBreeze kept to herself as much as possible, the darkened
bags under her eyes growing with each passing night.  And the deaths
continued.
	"Soon the Elders of the Tribe called the people together.  They
were to send a ambassador to the Black Tribe, and an escort was needed,
for the Mutilator still stalked the land.  GoldenBreeze was one of the
first to step forward and pledge her  duty to the Elders  and her
willingness to escort the ambassador.
	"The group left quickly, the mission made all the more urgent by
the danger abroad in the land.  They traveled for three days before
reaching the blackened plains.  They were met by a single representative
of the black tribe, a tall Black Deicus . . . One young warrior escaped to
tell of GoldenBreeze's treachery.
	"You see, the Black Tribe was part of the Adversary.  The Tribe
would learn soon enough that the Black Tribe, the Adversary and the
Mutilator were one and the same, and played as puppets on strings by the
Dark.  The Dark  had sunk its icey claws deep into GoldenBreeze's heart
long before, at the death of her beloved, LongClaw.  Something had
occurred upon her first visit to the blackened grounds, and now  she was
one of theirs. Embracing the tall Deicus of the Dark, and calling it by
LongClaw's name, she stood by and watched as Black Verdimm rose out of the
very ground to rend the ambassador's escort to pieces.  No mercy was
shown, and the young warrior barely escaped with hide and heart.
	"GoldenBreeze became known as ShadowHeart, for that is what she
had been named by the blackened LongClaw.  Over the next  several months,
she was seen by the side of the dead-but-living LongClaw, leading the
blackened Verdimm into battle.  For the Black Tribe did wage battle
against the One Tribe, and oft won, for who can attack their brother,
friend or sister whom they have long thought dead, but who now faces them
with claws and teeth?  Luna had turned from her people, and they were
being swallowed by the darkest night.
	"The Black continued to encroach on their fields and forests, and
the One Tribe was rapidly losing members to the Mutilator and the attacks
of the Black Tribe.  Luna had seemed to have forsaken her people, and they
began to loose faith in her love for the Verdimm.  ShadowHeart would
appear to Verdimm of the tribe, alone, on the outskirts of their hunts.
She promised them power, she promised them glory, she promised them
certainty, and she promised whatever they wanted, for it seemed as though
she could see the darkness in their hearts - the secret desires that we
hide from ourselves.  And they went to her.  They went to her in the
night, and they became one with the Adversary, for to be in that Dark
Army, to believe the  promises and lies of glory, power and fear, is to
loose your soul - to have your spirit subjected to the agonies of eternity
and to be bound inexorably to the Dark."
	The elder reached out with a stick and poked the smoldering
embers.  Charred wood cracked, showing a glowing red interior.  He waved
to a young cub,  who threw some  dry grass and another log onto the fire.
Reaching down as the new kindling cracked and popped, the elderly man
picked up his bowl and took a long drink of water before continuing.
	"The Dark grew in numbers, and whenever they assembled,
ShadowHeart's golden coat stood out admist the army of Blackened fur.
Still beautiful in her service to the Dark, she had become a tool of
corruption, a temptation to the paths of Evil.  It seems her name was
fitting, for while others wore the shadow of their Treachery to Luna on
their skin, she who had been called GoldenBreeze wore it in her heart,
where it festered and rotted and grew to the infection of others.  For
several seasons the Tribes struggled, fighting not only for ground - for
wherever the Black Tribe had conquered took on the evil taint of their
Dark Lords - but for the souls of their very members.
	"Finally, one rose to the fore of the One Tribe.  WhiteBrow had
been GoldenBreezes older half-brother, having been born by the same mother
to a previous litter.  As young cubs, there had been a love and friendship
between the two that is common among many in the same litter, but rare
between half-siblings.  He was a mighty warrior for his age, and before
the seasons of corruption, it was said that Luna smiled down on him as
well.  And yet WhiteBrow did not turn his back on Luna, as many complained
that Luna had done to them, but he maintained his diligence in the
observation of the traditions the she required, the behavior that she
commanded, the obediance she demanded.  He was a pious Deicus, and many of
the elders were shame-faced when confronted with his adherance to Lunas
strictures.
	"WhiteBrow had never been wounded in combat with the Dark forces,
and had led what few successful attacks against their army there had been.
On the first day of the dry season, WhiteBrow led the battle that was to
turn the tide against the forces of the Dark.
	"It seemed as if  the entire Dark army were amassed at the edge of
the blighted plain, their numbers stretched away,  individuals blending
into a large mass of black-furred, feathered, and  skinned Verdimm.  The
same stiffling silence settled over the field, and the type of smell that
attracts vultures pervaded the air.  The two forces lined up across the
division between Lunas plain and the Dark grasses, mere meters apart.  The
individual growls and curses from the One Tribes forces being swallowed in
the thickened silence.  The Black warriors were strangely silent.
	"WhiteBrow stepped forward from the line of the One Tribe,his eyes
searching the crowd for sign of his sister.  A howling began behind  him,
and he raised his hand, stopping it quickly.
	"Keeping his hand aloft, WhiteBrow scanned the Dark masses,
searching for one with golden fur.  A single tear rolled slowly down his
furry cheek and was caught by his whiskers as a golden form, shimmering in
the morning light, made its way through the Black sea towards him.
	"A small smile graced ShadowHearts face as she approached her
brother.  Her eyes scanned his face. 'Well, my brother, it has come to
this?'  She asked him.
	"He nodded in reply, his hand slowly lowering to his side.
	"'I have kept a place here for you, my brother. Why do you insist
on following Luna when she has turned her back upon you?  Come with me,
and you shall know power as you have never dreamt before!' said
ShadowHeart.
	"WhiteBrow shook his head slowly, still silent.
	"ShadowHeart became angered, and began to scream at WhiteBrow.
	"Still calm, WhiteBrow spoke under his breath, his mouth moving in
words as ancient as Luna.  As he spoke, another tear rolled down his
golden cheek to join the first in his whiskers.
	"ShadowHeart gradually slowed,  as WhiteBrows chanting built in
intensity.  The lines of Verdimm shifted uneasily, their hackles raising
with the tension in the air, and something else they couldnt place.
	"ShadowHeart screamed 'NO!!' as WhiteBrow worked his ancient magic,
her hands going to her ears, for to her, the words were as poison, and
this is why WhiteBrow cried, for Luna had shown him that he must destroy
his own sister.  With a violent lunge, ShadowHeart leapt towards her
brother, claws outstretched and teeth bared.  But somehow she was stopped.
Some say Luna herself reached out her hand and swatted ShadowHeart down.
Others believe it to have been a part of WhiteBrows ancient ritual.
Regardless, WhiteBrow stood over ShadowHearts motionless body, chanting
softly as the battle began around them.
	"The two forces collided with a crash to deafen the gods, and
Verdimm  warred upon Verdimm, tearing and rending flesh.  Death stalked
the field that night, but the battle seemed to ignore a bubble of
tranquility, a shelter of silence in which one brother stood over his
sister, ending her life with a flight of words."
	The elder paused to drink from the bowl again.  He set it down and
glanced around the circle, his eyes taking in the glances of all ages.
	"In the morning, when the battle was over and the survivors
crossed the field of corpses, they found WhiteBrow bent over his sisters
lifeless body, cradling it in his arms.  The tears flowed freely now, and
his face was contorted with grief.
	"'I've failed,' He choked out, over and over, 'I've failed and her
spirit remains in their grip, I've failed...'  WhiteBrow was consumed with
grief, for though ShadowHearts soul was freed from her earthly body, it
was still within the grips of the Adversary, and could be twisted to their
dark purpose.
	"Even today, ShadowHearts soul wanders Crinos.  It is said by some
that  she appears in the darkest nights to lonely Verdimm, seducing them
to the ways of the Dark.  Some say that she wanders the plains, searching
for a body to inhabit, so that she can bring about the Adverarys return.
There are dark spirits about, and it is said that she is their mistress
while her masters are gone, directing them to cause Lunas people  pain and
suffering, for she has never forgiven any Verdimm for what she has become
- the rot and decay placed in her by the Dark with LongClaws death still
festers and bleeds.
	"And WhiteBrow and the destruction of the Dark Lords, well that is
another story.  Another story entirely."