Stripetail sensed the two longneck's lovemaking and smiled. "innocent love.." He said with a smile... and then he mentally scanned his castle. everyone else but himself was asleep... Suddenly his mental search was interupted.. The voice that spoke was faint.. and Stripetail could only catch a few words..."It has begun... beware of the dark forces.. the tournament to come will decide the fate of all... you must win... but you will not able to defeat the dark forces alone.. you will need all of your friends..and some of your enemies... you must guide.. rather than lead...he has marked all of those strong enough to oppose him... this will be your only warning... farewell Head Wizzin..' The voice faded and his mental search continue, but now He was Troubled. The message had been cyriptic to the extreme.. he frowned as he looked as the fireplace. "evil never sleeps" He muttered as he climbed into a chair and began to nod off. The adventures of the past year were over, and the next were about to begin. Every year it seemed, his adventures tied him more and more to others, sudden;ly a faint longing to retire awoke in him. let others face the cosmos and its problems.. he quickly roused himself and dismissed it. He was still needed, he would only retire when the cosmos was entirely safe... "My Adventures are never over" He said to himself.. "Let the new ones come... I will enjoy them!" He finally nodded off and fell asleep in his chair.