View source for Libation in the Bardic Guild

[[Category:Bardic Merit Awards]][[Category:2004 Bardics]]
By: Syrah
Posted on: July 24, 2004


The guild was formed as any guild might be. Ralph Mercadia began our great
guild with a strong hand and brilliant vision. As the guild grew, more people
were incorporated and became secretaries, novice aides, and volunteers in
helping the younglings of the guild. No one knew the deadly disease which
crept into her walls as the young ones went along with their studies and the
elders went along with their business.

It started with Sam, our bartender. He's a good chap; excellent at the piano.
He knows a few songs he'll sing for you if you ask nicely and there are many
who say he serves the best booze in Sapience. What started as a simple drink
among friends turned into an epidemic which was to change the way others viewed
those in the bardic guild forever.

What is the epidemic you may ask? Aahh... that simple pleasure... harmless in
and of itself, but deadly for those who overdo themselves. For many
secretaries and novice aides, this libation was a release… a blessing used to
forget about the struggles of a growing guild littered with novices of every
race, ideal, and intelligence level.

The first time it happened no one expected it, not even the secretary who
performed the act. There was a novice who shall remain unnamed who had
recently joined the guild. After the novice aides in the guild had a hard time
working with him, they finally asked one of the secretaries for assistance.
The secretary quickly came to the novice aide's assistance and was appalled at
the vegetable matter that resembled a brain. The secretary sweetly asked that
everyone congregate at the bar for a small ceremony. She told the novice aide
she did the right thing in contacting her and that everything would be made
right.

It has been said in folklore that this secretary has in the past killed novices
with a single bop for stupidity, however what was to follow was an
unprecedented act, even for her. Without a second thought, she purchased a
round of absinthe from Sam and thanked him politely for the drinks. She then
asked him to sing a song. Softly at first, Sam began to sing, "You must
remember this… a kiss is just a kiss…" As Sam's background music grew louder
and the words of "As Time Goes By" filled the room, the secretary was overcome
by a passion caused by the severe stupidity of this young novice. Starting to
chant a quick ritual, she began to dump the absinthe on the novice, one shot at
a time. Praises were sung to Gods and Goddesses as the ritual continued. A
strange mist surrounded the growing crowd and as Sam's song came to an end, so
did the secretary's chant. What was observed next was something no one
expected.

When the fog cleared from everyone's eyes, they saw that the subnormal novice
was no where to be seen. Somewhere, however, from up above, a God was smiling
on the secretary. He had accepted her gift to Him with open arms and was quite
happy with the essence received from her gift. It seemed there was a use,
after all, for those novices which never seem to get it. Libation may just be
the cure to guild's struggles to weed out these less-than-bright beings. For
further information, lessons, and proper technique, please contact Xaviere
Moncrieff-Byron in the Bardic Guild.