1f: Sofonisba Intro

In the lovely Gray Ridge Mountains,
In a land of rhododendrons,
In a land of beaver meadows,
In a land of bright pine barrens,
In a land of deep green hollows,
There adventured Sofonisba.

In the mystic Gray Ridge Mountains,
In a land of swords and magic,
In a land of gods and temples,
In a land of ancient ruins,
In a land of new beginnings,
There adventured Sofonisba.

In the wild Gray Ridge Mountains,
In a land of fierce homesteaders,
In a land of orcs and goblins,
In a land of horrid monsters,
In a land of ancient evils,
There adventured Sofonisba.

Sofonisba Anguissola:
She was high-elf, lithe and cunning,
Wielding magic, bow, and rapier,
Skilled in all the ways of fighting,
Skilled in many types of knowledge,
Skilled in woodslore and equations.

She worked for a court's book archive,
Giving them her acquisitions.
She had worked with many people
And she always told them thusly:
"I shall take all written matter.
You can split all other treasures."

Sofonisba, knowledge seeker.
Sofonisba, beauty seeker.
Sofonisba, skilled at fighting.
Sofonisba, skilled in magic.
Sofonisba, skilled in woodcraft.
Sofonisba, skilled with figures.

She would have more reputation,
But she only worked as needed,
Only worked when wanting money,
Or she did some calculations
And she found that in some dungeon
There would be a trove of knowledge.

She would join a looting party.
She would crawl through likely dungeons:
Ancient crypts, and fallen castles,
Filled with monsters, traps, and hazards.
She would fight things with her weapons,
She would solve things with her knowledge.

Her companions, rough and greedy,
Seeking money, fame and glory.
Sofonisba, she was different,
She sought only ancient knowledge:
"I shall take all written matter.
You can split all other treasures."

In her downtime, she sought beauty
Up and down the mountain ranges.
She would vanish in the wilds,
Living off the lands she'd mastered,
Living off the fertile bounty
Of the wild mystic forests.

But she knew that people sought her
For her knowledge, for her fighting.
So she had a ranger's contract
With the local postal network:
Once a fortnight, they would send her,
On a red-tailed hawk, her letters.

Of an autumn, came the mail-day,
Came the mail-time, came the mail-hawk.
With the postman's voice, the hawk said,
"Letters for you, Sofonisba.
With a special summons from the
Space Command, of Gray Ridge Neutrals."

Sofonisba thanked the hawk, and
Fed it with a fresh-caught field mouse.
While it ate the mouse, and waited
Sofonisba read her letter,
Read her letter with the summons
To a new and strange adventure.

Sofonisba quickly saw that
She'd been chosen for a testing.
They were testing Sofonisba
Testing her, and several others
Testing to determine who might
Win the hand of Martin Cooper.

The great wizard, Martin Cooper
Kind and single, rich and handsome,
Leader of the new assembly
Of the peoples of the Gray Ridge.
In a flight of elven fancy
She had sent him her proposal.

Martin Cooper, knowledge seeker.
Martin Cooper, beauty seeker.
Martin Cooper, skilled at fighting.
Martin Cooper, skilled in magic.
Martin Cooper, skilled in woodcraft.
Martin Cooper, skilled with figures.

So she wrote a hasty letter,
Quickly wrote a simple letter
To the place where all would gather,
To the diner in the spaceport
Martin Cooper'd built for gathering:
"I am coming - Sofonisba"

Next (Mary)
Next Sofonisba