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Well, here I am again, after a little travel. I was speaking with Nadya of
the USL, and of the Awooga. She told me this story that I wish to share with
you all.
 
 

Blushing feverishly, Nadya looked at Mertjai and said 'STOP THAT!'  Mertjai
chuckled slightly as a knock at the plain wooden door to the west was heard.
An angelic Awooga woman called out: "'tis unlocked, please come in."

The door opened and Sir West, Knight of Legend, slowly stepped in, nervously
looking around. Mertjai and Nadya both curtsied to the Knight, as they both
suspect the reason for his visit. He had been courting their adopted daughter
for a while now, and there had been whispers heard that he sought her hand in
marriage.

Sir West bowed deeply to both women. 'Greetings, I hope all has been well
tonight," Sir West said, a touch of nervousness in his voice.  An angelic
Awooga woman replied to Sir West, 'Good day, please have a seat.' As she
motioned to a chair in the front room of the Clan USL main hall.

Sir West replied to an angelic Awooga woman, 'Thank you," as he sat down
slowly onto a heavily carved chair, keeping his eyes on the floor for the
moment. An angelic Awooga woman smiled at him.

'Well, as I mentioned before to Mertjai, I've not found the time to visit the
two of you, and for that I apologize,' Sir West started finally.  An angelic
Awooga woman nodded solemnly, smiling slightly to herself. 'Quite all right,
schedules often conflict, especially for one of the Knighthood as yourself.'

Sir West nodded solemnly. He fidgeted impatiently in his chair, looking
slightly flustered as he cleared his throat. He had not realized this would
be so hard. He was a Knight of Legend, and, as such, had faced many things,
but nothing compared to sitting in front of these two powerful women trying
to ask for the hand of his beloved in marriage.

Sir West looked to an angelic Awooga woman; 'Well...I guess the reason for my
visit is clear.'

'The reason being that you wish to wed my adopted daughter?' An angelic
Awooga woman spoke directly to Sir West.

The young Knight gulped then looked straight into Mertjai's eye and replied:
'I am in love with your daughter.'

Nadya beamed brightly at Sir West, remembering all that her daughter had been
through since she and Mertjai adopted her as their own. She had lost the man
she had been promised in marriage to, when he left the world for a hopefully
better place. Nadya briefly remembered the pain that Minako had gone through
and the talks they had had over here fears of never loving again and losing
all those she loved.

An angelic Awooga woman nodded solemnly. Sir West said, 'My presence has been
short, and my deeds have been few thus far.' An angelic Awooga woman blinks
in surprise, and looked to Sir West for an explanation. Sir West chuckled
politely. 'I have little to show for but my love for her,' he clarified.

'Does my daughter love you as well?' An angelic Awooga woman asked him.  Sir
West nodded his agreement with an angelic Awooga woman.  An angelic Awooga
woman asked, 'And to wed, you wish our permission?' Sir West nodded again.
'Then you must prove yourself worthy of her hand,' an angelic Awooga woman
replied.

Sir West looked to an angelic Awooga woman; 'I am willing to do whatever is
required.' An angelic Awooga woman looked up and pondered how it was he could
prove his love and devotion to their daughter.  After a few moments she
nodded to herself and looked back to the young Knight.

'Bring me three items of varying difficulty, then you will have my
permission,' an angelic Awooga woman said. Sir west nods his agreement with
an angelic Awooga woman and asked: 'What is it that you desire?'

'The first item, is an Apache arrowhead, to hang above our door' An angelic
Awooga woman said. Sir West nodded, taking note of his task.  'The second
item,' an angelic Awooga woman said to him,  'is a pair of sturdy black
gloves, suitable to wear when I use my scalpel,'

Sir West replied, 'I have seen those two items in my travels, what is the
third?' taking notes of where he had seen them and where he must go.  An
angelic Awooga woman continued to Sir West, 'And the last item, the hardest
of them all, a shiny green serpent scale, to protect my guild from its
enemies.'

Sir West nodded to her. 'I shall return with the items with all haste.' An
angelic Awooga woman smiled brightly at Sir West. 'When you do, you will have
my full permission to wed my daughter. WITH her consent of course." Sir West
stood, ready to begin his quest. Nadya shook Sir West's hand vigorously,
wishing him the best of luck. He thanked Nadya, looking a little nervous.

'Then I will be off to look for the items,' Sir West replied.  With a bow he
turned and slowly walked to the door, his brow turned into a thoughtful
position as he tried to think of how to attain the items he sought, so that
he could gain the hand of the Lady Minako in wedlock.

An angelic Awooga woman called after Sir West,  'Good travels good Knight!'
Sir West thanked an angelic Awooga woman heartily, waved happily as he opened
the door to the parlor and departed on his mission.  Nadya and Mertjai looked
at each other, their eyes meeting, saying a silent prayer between them in
hopes that he would succeed and that both he and Minako would find the
happiness that they had found together.

Nadya asked, "Are you sure you do not ask too much of him, my love?"

Mertjai replied, "If he wishes to wed a daughter of the Awooga, even adopted
then he must brave the tasks to prove himself worthy of her hand.  Besides,
these tasks are but easy compared to many I could have asked. He is lucky."
And with a sly wink to Nadya she took her hand and slowly pulled her to her
feet.

"Now, let's head to bed -- it has been a long day and I hope it will be a
long night as well." Mertjai gave a sly wink and pulled Nadya up the stairs
toward the living quarters within the USL clan hall.

(A few days later)

A plain door is opened from the other side. Minako walked in and sat down on
a heavily carved chair. She smiled nervously at both of her mothers. "I heard
that he was on his way back to town. I had hoped to meet him but I think I
moved too quickly."

Both Mertjai and Nadya smiled at their daughter as she tried to sit still but
instead fidgeted and stared at the floor, lost in her own world for the
moment. Soon a knock was heard, and an angelic Awooga woman called out, 'Who
is it?'

Minako's head picked up quickly as she looked to the door. Sir West loudly
called out from the corridor. 'It is Sir West again.' She called for him to
come in and Sir West entered the room, smiling happily. An angelic Awooga
woman curtseyed gracefully as Sir West bowed deeply to all in the room.

Nadya waved a welcome to Sir West as he smiled at Minako, as his eyes fell on
her sitting in the room. He stood a tad bit straighter and faced Mertjai.
'Hello there, kind Knight,' the angelic Awooga woman said to him.
Minako stood and quickly gave him a warm and loving embrace, welcoming him,
before she sat back down beside Nadya.

Sir West cleared his throat and he began the words he had been reciting to
himself since he started his travel back after retrieving the last item.  'I
have proven my patience and waited a night seeking the first item.' He said
as he handed an angelic Awooga woman an Apache arrowhead.

An angelic Awooga woman nods solemnly. 'Very good,' an angelic Awooga woman
said to Sir West. Nadya smiled at nervous Knight, the kindness evident in her
eyes. Sir West smiled quickly at Nadya and then started:  'I have traversed
the depths of hell, seeking the second item that you desire.' An angelic
Awooga woman nodded in agreement with him as he continued.

'I fought valiantly and emerged victorious,' Sir West said as he gave a pair
of Sturdy black gloves to Mertjai.  An angelic Awooga woman smiled brightly
at Sir West.  Minako cheered loudly for Sir West as Nadya clapped
approvingly.  'That is the second item that you seek,' Sir West said as he
smiled at Mertjai. An angelic Awooga woman nodded and said:  'A pair of
gloves suitable for operating with.'

Sir West continued, 'In the waters, I met a giant sea serpent and we battled
for hours, and fortunately, he yielded to my blade.' Minako gulped nervously
but stayed quiet. 'Upon his death, he left this,' Sir West said as he handed
a shiny green serpent's scale to An angelic Awooga woman.  An angelic Awooga
woman smiled at him taking the shield and setting it down with the arrowhead
and gloves.  'That was the third item that you sought,' Sir West said as he
smiled happily.

'A shield worthy of protecting my guild,' an angelic Awooga woman said
nodding slowly. Minako cheered for Sir West, nearly bursting with joy.  With
this finished, he bowed deeply to the strong woman standing before him and
fell silent. An angelic Awooga woman looked to Sir West and started  'Upon
receiving these three items, I thank you, and I give you my full permission
to wed my daughter, Minako.'

The group exchanged enthusiastic hugs and smiles.  Sir West's face lit with
joy as he looked around the room and realized that his & Minako's dream had
been given the blessing of her mothers.  'You approve as well, mom?' Minako
said turning to Nadya.

'Of course, I knew he was quite worthy,' Nadya spoke to her daughter with a
smile.  An angelic Awooga woman giggled at Nadya and gently poked her in the
ribs.  "I did!" Nadya exclaimed looked at Mertjai.

'Please feel free to visit my humble hut in Orkney if you are ever in the
area,' Sir West said looking between Mertjai and Nadya.
'Thank you,' an angelic Awooga woman replied to him as they exchanged yet
another smile.

'Just between you and I', Mertjai leaned over and whispered to Sir West, 'I'm
glad she's found herself a nice Knight like yourself,' Sir West smiled warmly
at an angelic Awooga woman in thanks.  Minako cuddled up closely in an
embrace with Sir West.  'Without a second thought, I will protect her with my
life,' Sir West whispered to an angelic Awooga woman.

An angelic Awooga woman smiled at Sir West and whispered back, "You better,
or you'll answer to me." An angelic Awooga woman gave a sly wink to Sir West
to show she was joking.  Maybe!  Sir West smiled at Minako softly.  An
angelic Awooga woman went around the room giving everyone enthusiastic hugs.

Sir West bowed deeply. 'I must be going I fear, it has been a long journey
and I need some rest,' Sir West said, as weariness finally started to find
his body.

'I wish you all well, but alas I must depart now,' Sir West said with a heavy
sigh, trying to hide a slight yawn. An angelic Awooga woman smiled at Sir
West and with a nod, gave him a hug of good night. Minako gave both Mertjai
and Nadya a quick kiss and waved goodbye.

Nadya gave both a hug and a smile with a quick kiss on the cheek and a good
night for both. Sir West kissed Minako deeply and then reached down to open
the door. With a quick twist, the door opened and he and his betrothed headed
out to take the walk back to Minako's home in the sunset. 'Night Mom,' Minako
said to an angelic Awooga woman as they walked out the door, 'I love you
both.'

With that said, the door closed and their daughter was now betrothed to the
young Knight. Nadya and Mertjai looked at each other, with a smile and a nod
they too embraced and walked off to bed for the night.

-A historian of current facts.