<span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">CHAPTER ONE: Wherein Our Heroes Are Introduced; a Mynah Bird Lands</span></span></div><br/></span><br/>The history of the world is but the biography of great men.<br/><br/>It was the first day of spring in the year 376Æ, and the fourth year of peace under King Barlow II's rule.  At the start of every winter the king of Manhattan would call the surcession of his court so that his liegemen might tend to their holdings throughout his kingdom, and on the first day of spring, would reopen the great hall to his subjects so that there would be feasting and gaming in celebration of the relinquishment of winter's hold on the land.  All of the king's neighborhoods would send their representatives, from the venerable Sugar Hill in the north to the audacious Chinatown in the south; from the vast holdings of Harlem to the small block of Tudor City.  Some men and women came with grievances to air, others with alms to beg, although most fiefdoms' representatives came to the Freedom Tower with nothing but expectations of merriment at the start of a new year.  It is with this first day of spring, this day of rebirth and transformation, that a great tale begins...<br/><br/>Now Thomas Knopf was a studious man from the Spanish Harlem, a fiefdom of considerable import to the kingdom due to its hold on the Triborough Bridge, that connected to both Queens and the Bronx via Wards Island.  Thomas, who had recently come to the position of abbot of his community's chapel, was known by his congregation to be a man of great piety and so soon earned the esteem of the neighborhood's lord, one Corrinne Ellsworth.  The Sunday one week before our tale begins found Thomas Knopf administering to his flock, delivering the Blessed Sacrament to the men and women of his congregation.<br/><br/>A dark-featured man fair of skin, with a shock of black hair that framed a squared yet youthful face, Thomas Knopf possessed a proud countenance despite his humble birth as a coppersmith's son.  In fact with his tall frame and broad shoulders the abbot was rather regal in bearing, and at a glance could instill in his audience a hushed sense of wonder.<br/><br/>"Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again," said he, gesturing with one hand whilst reading from the Book.<br/><br/>"Energy can neither be created nor destroyed," the congregation intoned in response, as the first row moved toward the altar where Thomas awaited.<br/><br/>"Take this and eat of it; for this is My body which will be given up for you for the forgiveness of sins.  Do this in memory of Me," Thomas delivered, while moving from one kneeling congregant to the next.  At each member he offered the Body of Christ - a black-and-copper rectangular cube small enough to fit into an enclosed hand, with two differently-sized nodes protruding from the copper cap.  The Body of Christ was pressed against each person's tongue, and each man and woman there shivered with the odd tingling sensation that accompanied the absolution of their sins.<br/><br/>Thomas concluded the Blessed Sacrament and after a closing hymn the congregation dispersed, to return to their homes to rest on the last Sabbath before the new year.  In securing the empty church from trespassers Thomas entered his code into the terminal just beside the front doors, and after pressing 'away' the terminal began to beep periodically in warning.  Thomas locked the doors behind him and began the short walk to his home down 1st Ave toward the bridge.  With his home so near the river border with Wards Island, Thomas passed many bridge warders whose duties took them to and from the westward guardhouse each day.  In passing Thomas greeted many by name and was greeted warmly in turn, such was the new Abbot's standing in his community.<br/><br/>Not far from the intersection that would lead to his apartment building Thomas overheard a great cry coming from the direction of the Triborough Bridge, and saw many men running from the guard house toward the foot of the long suspension bridge.  The kingdoms of Manhattan and Queens not being at war with one another, citizens from either side of the river were free to travel as their business took them and there was nothing odd in seeing several dozen men and women traverse the great expanse each day.  Perplexed by what could cause the commotion then, Thomas ventured further toward the bridge to verify that all was well.  Wearing a tartan duffel coat against the cold over his black liturgical uniform, the abbot was not immediately distinguished from the rest of the gathering crowd despite standing nearly half a head above the others, but was content not to push through for an unobstructed view.<br/><br/>At their end of the Triborough Bridge, four of the bridge wardens stood in rank with hands on their weapons - three ash wood spears and a hand-and-a-half sword.  Across the expanse of the bridge a figure moved toward them, and even from such a great distance Thomas was able to understand the guards' apprehension.  The figure limped and swayed as though injured, and yet moved with a certain belying speed as though compelled forward from within despite his presumed injuries.  Because of the distance and the contorted posture Thomas was unable to determine if the approaching figure was man or woman - even the garb gave no clue from afar.<br/><br/>When the approaching figure came within earshot of the armed bridge warders, the captain of the guard cried "Halt there!  State your business!"<br/><br/>"State your business in the name of the king!" he continued when his first command went unheeded, while the figure approached yet closer.<br/><br/>"Identify yourself and state your business or be cut down!" the captain of the guard demanded.  When neither reply nor deviation from his or her path was made by the approaching figure, the captain of the guard unsheathed his sword and signaled to the three men beside him, who positioned themselves in a small hemisphere in front of him, the tips of their spears lowered horizontally, poised to strike.  Awed by this person who would encourage such dismay in these bridge wardens, Thomas Knopf found himself wondering just who this traveler was, and what about his or her destination so preoccupied them to the preclusion of any guards' commands.  He also wondered where the figure came from - had he or she passed unmolested from Queens; the Bronx?<br/><br/>Thomas Knopf watched on, greatly intrigued.