Setting: The vast Saharan plain where we find the village of Bar’anco. On the very edge sits a walled in estate, modest by the standards of the larger cities like Cairo but still impressive set against the humble abodes of the denizens of Bar’anco. Through the gate we see a large camel compound with many tenders which bespeaks much wealth. It is of course the abode of none other than Munsack the Magnificent, All-Seer, All-Knower, Arch-Slayer of the Damned & Cruel.He is finishing his evening meal as the sun turns orange-ish brown in the early evening. Soon he will retire for prayers, thence to bed.
Scene: A commotion at the gates, loud enough to be heard inside the main living quarters, startles him. He rises and, with several guards, advances there to find the villagers, en masse, huddled at the entrance. Clearly something awful must have befallen them to cause such an intrusion. Munsack, a severe but benevolent patriarch, allows the gate to be opened and the assembly to enter the courtyard, a singular departure from the strict protocols of the day.
“What is it my children? What has alarmed you so?’ Munsack asks. The village chief, more or less a nominal mayor, ventures forth, eyes cast down. “Master”, he haltingly begins “we beg of you to know we will start at QB this fall for the Broncos?” “Ahh”, Munsack replies, “you seek the answer to the tetrarchy [note: term means government by 4] of the QB. May those who have ears sit and listen to the prophet.”
“It has been said unto you that Patti is in the among those given serious consideration. But does a foal run with the thoroughbreds? Does a pear not ripen before it falls? In all things we see that nature is not rushed, that in the fullness of time all things are rendered as they are to be. But this is not Patti’s time, not yet. Coach Pete is ensuring there is no slack in the line however, and will give all indications he is part of the deliberations. He is not.”
“Master, what of Laughrea?” another asks. Lifting his hand, Munsack responds “The archer must show his skill to be deemed worthy of the contest. Have any of you witnessed with your own eyes the performance of this young man? Look, I mean no disparagement. But just as the Christians say do not leave your light under a bushel basket, so it is that the talents he possesses, considerable though they may be, have not seen the light of the blue Heaven here on earth. Does the untested lancer lead the charge?”
“I know your next question: Hedrick”. The crowd shudders at this spontaneous display of divination, further cementing Munsack’s reputation as a necromancer par excellence’. “It is true he has touched the blue several times, and shown dexterity. But in all the plays he has run, do we see anything like the Bronco QBs of the past? More specifically and importantly, do wee se anything approaching the pocket-passer style Coach Pete has perfected to such a degree it may almost be considered a signature mark of this team?”
“But”-an impertinent villager has dared interrupt the All-Knowing. The crowd stiffens; apprehension fills the air. The impudence inspires The Great One into a new level of intensity bordering on anger: “Does not the sheikh on the day of battle call for his best war horse, the one he himself has groomed, tested, raised, watched with loving eyes as he guided with stern hand, the one who will protect him and thus his kingdom, keeping him safe in battle while he inflicts divine justice on the infidel, ensuring his family is safe from captivity, the one who will respond so effortlessly that horse and rider are one? And who among the tetrarchy fits this bill? Who? Only one, the man from the South. There will be much wailing an gnashing of teeth as this summer unveils itself and the slips into the pool of time, but in the end-it will be him.”
With that, Munsack rises. The crowd needs no other cue; it leaves, quietly and quickly without so much as a nod from the guards. Munsack, oddly refreshed from his efforts, decides that prayers can wait, and enters one of the somewhat smaller edifices adjacent to the main living quarters where he commences to eat one of his dates.
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