Friends At The Table

…unexpected means of conveyance, but at that time, what ought have been reasonably expected at all? Perhaps such flippancy isn’t well placed. Now, with the benefit of distance and context, it’s simple to recognize the many ways that the Rhizome should have shaken loose our assumptions along with all that old Hieronic dirt. But by all retrospective accounts--including this historian’s own limited recollection--no single question dominated our collective anxiety as much as this one: What can we expect? In a world of giant insects, endless growth, unearthed histories older than the Weaver King was long, how could we know what tomorrow would bring? Perhaps it was phrased differently, sometimes more specifically or with more sentimentality. But at core, it was this question--this fear--that led many to swear allegiance to the banners of Alcyon, the University, the Grey Duke. The words delivered to us by the Shepherd confirm that it was what motivated those who came to that fateful Understanding. And while this is