Message from the Editor (Yes, thats still me)

Well, I've had a few minor complaints about the length of last Issue.
It seems 2 people actually made it all the way through, while most of
the other readers wandered back out the start, dazed and confused,
several days later. For those who are still missing, don't worry, we
have sent a rescue team in after them. Subsequently, this Issue will
be broken up into two parts, so if you don't like the first one, you
can skip the next post. You can also take a little break in between,
because as we all know, too much Thakren can be a dangerous thing.
This Issue, we focus on the truth behind the Morningstar, learn of
Furze's bizarre rituals, in an exclusive interview with him, and
debut our "Travel" section with a fabulous review of Ashtan, Bastion
of the North. (If you'd like your city reviewed, please speak to me
about the rates, Napoloen really managed to haggle me down) I'd also
like to put the call out to all of you writers out there to put
together an article of your own, I'm always on the look-out for
talent, and will pay in weed and/or tequilia for any quality articles.

Feature Article: The Morningstar - The Truth is out There
Many of us lived (and died, and lived again) during the tumultuous time
that is now referred to as "The Coming of the Morningstar", but just
how many of us know what really happened? During a recent visit to
the Crystal Leaf Inn, I spoke to a very reliable source (A drunk guy
who bought me a free flagon) and discovered the true story behind the
Morningstar.

People are mean, thats what I always say. Take poor Averroes for example
as a child, he was picked on relentlessly, and even as an adult, he
had people walking up him and saying things like "If you can really see
the future, why don't you just win the lottery? Why're you stuck on that
crummy teachers salary?" until eventually, even a peaceful fellow like
Averroes finally snapped. In a fit of rage, he prophecised the destruction
of Achaea, at the hands of the enigmatic "Morningstar".

Unfortunately for us, mortals are not the only people who gamble. Indeed,
it seems that Twilight had a rather large bet going on Averroes finally
delivering a winning prophecy, and that was the one we were stuck with.
Surprisingly enough, it wasn't long before a huge meteorite was heading
on a collision course with Sapience. Our one saving grace was that Aeon
had bet a sizeable amount on Averroes' prophecy once again proving false,
so he ended up turning back time in an attempt to halt, or avert, the
disaster. However, he only succeeded in delaying the inevitable, and
so the entire surface of Sapience was incinerated by the Morningstar.
The mortals who were around then were priveliged to witness the birth of
two new gods, Apollyon and Aurora, but the *real* Hero of the day was
Vastar, who, upon discovering that Averroes was unlicensed, promptly
refunded everyone's money. Three cheers for Vastar!

And so it was that the Morningstar disaster came to an end, and none
of us any richer or poorer, but I beleive a moral can be taken from
that particular tale: Whatever you do, don't bet against Twilight.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this issue, coming up next post, for our
Interview with Furze, and our review of Ashtan.

Penned by my hand on the 22nd of Lupar, in the year 246 AF.