Ok gotcha.

Only the DANCE is powerful enough to heal this wound.

I don’t know why, but it’s the little details like that which keep me entertained and interested. Keep up the nice work.

Epic.

Wookie - Thanks! And yes, if a face can launch a thousand ships, then a game of tuntach can keep old friends from speaking for five years.

Aust - Yup. Naturally, it’s not *just* the game, but let me elaborate a little further down.

Wolfgang - Tor is the king of the *Bull* tribe, not the Get-Along Gang, unfortunately.

ICWT - Theng-kyew.

Lebbrin - Yer welcome! Let’s hope you still feel that way next week.

AdamZero - Well, that’s what my girlfriend says, (though she’s too sweet to say “bastard.”)

KarateCowboy - The more emotionally realisitc you’re able to make the character, I find, the easier it is for them to be absurd without trying to be. Art Linkletter, many years ago, said it best: “People Are Funny.” And if you don’t know who he is, Google it! And Tethik’s aquiline looks have also been compared to Leonard Nimoy and others. I was not going for a look-alike, though a middle-aged O’Toole *would* have been a fine casting choice for him.

Matti - Correct. It is the “chess” of this world, and both Erogenians and Kivalians play several versions of it.

LorannaPyrel - Well, given that I steal most of the stuff I do from classic fiction anyway, be my guest. Nobody can copyright a basic storyline or characterization, otherwise Terry Brooks would have been sued into the Stone Age by the Tolkien estate. =D

Elfguy - He’s not stewing over the move itself. heheheh…

Acipenser - Thanks! People, huh? whatcha gonna do?

Anna - Thank you very much! Tor and Tethik also thank you, from the little sub-reality they occupy in the back of my skull …

Lora - See below about King BullHead. He’s not one to “let things go.”

Gremalkin - Listen to what Tor says. The reason he tossed Tethik out and hasn’t spoken to him as a friend in five years is not the game itself, but how he handled the dispute. Bear in mind that this is a people that not only prides itself on openness and honesty but this particular specimen of Erogenian bullheadedness grew up in a time when *any* perceived insult to integrity could result in a blood duel. Tethik, like most sensible people,(even most Erogenians) gave way with grace on a point that he considered not worth fighting about. Tor, on the other hand, perceived that as meaning that Tethik considered him not worth fighting with. That’s actually the crux of it. It’s also one of the many reasons why it took centuries and a lucky coincidence of strong, intelligent leaders on both sides for the Erogenians and Kivalians to stop bashing each other over the head every time they met.

JR - Well, after all the heart and head-wrenching we had in the previous scenes, I thought we could do with something a little less serious for a few pages.