Ten Years: A Synopsis by G.A.S.

Sure, we've made it this far. Ten years is a very long time for anything to last. Most cars don't last that long. Most marriages don't last that long. Most heart valve implants don't last that long. But we have.

This is something of a miracle. Not, I believe, because it happened. We were pretty sure something or other would have come out of the original experience. But not the thing that is so close to the original form. Sure it has gotten fancier, with better shoes and such. But it is still based on the same Credo.

For those who were in elementary school when this all began, the original form is a mystery. Tales are cloaked in double entendre. Descriptions are prefixed with "I was really wasted but I remember that night at the Barn when...."

What was going on back in those early days? Why did Revelwood begin? Not just in the SCAdian sense, but in the primordial days of racing cars, canoe trips and falling off bridges.

For a more detailed explanation of these founding facts, we must turn the story over to Spiney Norman, Historian of Revelwood, where we will learn of the...

CREATION OF THE WHITE CUPS

Early in the dawn of time, somewhere around 2:30 in the afternoon, a triad of friends sat quietly around a magical fire. They were engaged in their most favorite pastime, recreating the Universe in their own image. It was an old game, but one they never tired of. In those early days, the materials needed to do this were less expensive, more readily available and significantly stronger.
One of them, who was known as The Voice of Abstract Thought (VOAT), looked about and imagined a race of beings totally different from those already in the forest. This wasn't as easy as it sounds. You see, VOAT had quite a special type of imagination. Every time he mentally devised a different sort of furry forest creature, it would become real in his mind. He would hold a brief but enlightened conversation with it, and it would suddenly become just another furry forest creature, scampering about looking for the Shop Steward, just like all the others. This unique talent of instant materialization of his thoughts understandably drove him nuts. Pissed off the census takers too.
Another of them was called The Collector. From him, all things were accidentally stumbled upon, bartered for, secured and transported to Revelwood. However, as a result of his special and unique talent, it would instantaneously break, become generally dangerous, injure only him and get lodged for all time in the Archives. Even if discarded, it would rematerialize under someone's foot at the most inopportune moment.
The last of these three was titled Systematic Chaos. Considered a paradox of sorts, this brave fellow would spend long hours deeply engaged with the tedious efforts needed to construct the most spectacular machines, with elaborate flywheels and grandiose gears; with stupefying structural beams that caught the brilliant sunlight and dazzled the minds of all who laid sight upon them. Then he blew it up. He said he liked the noise.
 
 

As one of the three centers of influence in the Artisan's Colony of Revelwood, The White Cups are called upon to provide the out-of-body thinking which results in the out-of-your-mind activities. The White Cups were responsible for the Battle of the Pirate Ships, The Come As Your Favorite Stonewall Party and of course, the concept of Revelwood itself.

 Without them, there would be a lot less inspiriation and a lot more booze.
 
 

Next Episode: THE TRIPOD OF POWER