The Story of the Great Rift as told by Donald, son of Rusted clan of Wolff; Member of the Orders of Shaw of the Hill, Holder of Metal in the Houses of Featherstone and Getz, Acolyte of the Rules of Conliffe and Hasenauer, from the great and sunny expanse of New Mexico, land of the Bee and home of the plague.

In the early dawn of gaming of historical song, there was in the land of the Americans the Hill of Avalon. They did bring forth with every spring a new construction of history rendered in cardboard of many colors. And the foundations of the most holy temple of Historical Gaming was built. Its mortar was made strong by the Sons of Scruby and Followers of Featherstone who the of the sect of metal and plastic, did Meow the litany of the record of man known as history.

Both those of the Hill and of Featherstone did look upon each others as brothers. And many did practice their faith in both haps of the temple with joy and happiness. They were the many and the happy. They played at the feet of the elder Titans who had planted the garden in which great feats of battle were replayed and honored. The gatherings were joyful. The many were youthful. And tho the tools and toys were often primitive and of common art, they effectively served their purpose.

However, within the youthful population, there was the cult of Tolkien. Those gamers were not of solid heart in their faith to the Temple.

These gamers soon strayed from the teachings of the Temple. They mutated the rules of warfare known as Chainmsil by adding the virus of Hobbits, Dwarves, Wraiths, and the like. As with a great plague, this did spread. Soon the hollowed haDs of Origins, the land of the great gathering of historical gamers both of the cardboard and of the metal, was corrupted. The historical brethren were shuttered into small and dark recesses of the gatherings. The unwashed masses cried of Dragons and Dungeons. The merchants of the gatherings and of the church found these children of the dark had pockets lined with gold (wed at least more goodies than the historical gamers did mint).

They with great abandon no longer traveled the small visages of historical gainers, only spending their efforts on the great multitude of RPG, Fantasy, and their offspring. The children of the dark and their camp followers held those of the original Temple in much contempt. Finally, they did OVERTLY expel the brothers of the temple from their summer gatherings and winter halls.

The historical gamers did lick their wounds of unwelcome. For many years they wandered the barren plains of the land of the Americans. They would hear of wonders from the land of the English who stiD held faith to the caging of Featherstone. For they had parchments of colour and great news. Finally, great heroes sprung forth from the many and distant tribes created by the fad of the first Temple. There are to be written the names of Byrant of the Bay, Coggins of the Great Heart, Cronin of the East, Mohrmann of the Conventions, and many others who did gather in the Hall of Wally.

They did great talk and works. Although the original temple had laid in ruins and the families disbursed from their fruitful summer pastures, these heroes did clean the foundations of a new Temple. They put forth great efforts and sacred time. They rebuilt the community of historical gaming among the land of the Americans and codified the gatherings in the book of HMGS. Those of education and training, did perform the most honored duty of scribe and sent letters and pamphlets among the host. And lo, they did can forth with the land of the Amish another great gathering of the followers of the original Temple.

Great rejoicing did spread among the many and there was a great rebirth. The Temple did attract the true and faithful back into their midst. And then the gatherings were joyful and many, the host still bode ill for those of the dark who did turn them out of their ancestral lands and gatherings. Great care is taken in the gatherings of faithful devotion to the Temple.

Those who raise their voice to once again allow the heresy within the celebrations are looked upon with great loathing and suspicion. And the merchants. They did find the sons and daughters of the Mark double D to be fickle and did fend the members of the Temple to have grown of much silver and gold with age. Now the faithful enjoy a new age, of miniatures of such cunning skill and beauty never seen before this time, of rules of many glossy pages and fine pictured and accessories of unspoken quality, and quietly trill to the attention from the merchants who had scorned them for those of the Mark in darker ages.

Once again, great songs are heard both of heroes and of the common man known as history. Once again, there is celebration and honoring of the feats of those who have gone before us. The stories of things which never were and never to be are not to be heard among the gatherings of the New Temple.

So the story of why many of the cold shoulder do glare with redden eyes towards those who cast them out from their homelands and abodes many a year gone past. And tho many of lesser years play the games of fantasy and were not the cause of the great expulsion, they nevertheless carry the Mark!