AVALON MISTS: A momentary escape from reality.
Issue #8
First Released: Wednesday, April 10, 1996

****Top Ten List****

"You might be a Disney Heroine if..."
--Leva (levamevis@aol.com)

#6 	Animals love and trust you unconditionally. (Let's pet Nessie)

#5 	You have a big, gruff, noble father with a stubborn temper and a tendency
to forget you're almost grown up and independent. (Even if he won't admit
it...)

#4 	You have nonhuman sidekicks.
(C'mon, Bronx)

#3 	You have long hair and a figure like a Barbie Doll (Well, and wings, too,
but Ariel had a tail...)

#3 	You get kidnapped by the Dastardly Villain. (Sevarius is *such* a
cliche...)

#2. 	You've had a really boring life and now, all at once, you're having a
grand adventure! (I want to see the world...)

And the number one indicator:

#1	There's a Wicked Witch somewhere, anywhere, in your life!


"Top Ten Good Things About 'The New Olympians'"
--Michael A. Smith (jg74stu@semovm.semo.edu)

10.  Err... wait, let me think about this....  (Gosh, maybe I should have
done something else...)

9.  Excellent excuse for X-Men crossovers.

8.  It helps us forget previous Gargoyles embarrassments (ex. "Grief").

7.  Potential for an entirely new series!  (Oh wait... that wouldn't be a
good thing....)

6.  It helped the Disney writers get the cheese out of their system.

5.  It can be used to help break serious, life-endangering cases of
Gargoyles addictions.

4.  The highly oringianl and unique idea of Proteus.  ;)

3.  It'd make a great show for Mystery Science Theater 3000.

2.  Well, at least we got to hear Michael Dorn again.

and the number one good thing about "The New Olympians"....

1.  It wasn't a two-parter.


****Poetry****

"Angel"
-- Nancy Brown (nancy@rat.org)
 
who and what are we
the nightling creatures
clinging to our self-made walls
like spiders
crumbling stone beneath our fingers
growing fire beneath leather wings
forbidden sunlight
embracing the darkness
the moon-lover calls
to soar again
above the sleeping beasts
who are you to judge
to point to scream
i have seen the turn
of a thousand years
i have known tenderly
monsters beyond imagining
all wearing human faces


"Only the Night"
(subtitled: If Elisa thought in iambic pentameter)
-- Nancy Brown
 
You guard the city while its children sleep,
I guard you while you slumber through the day;
We paired defenders of this fragile keep
Have but the night to learn the other's way.
So I will teach you of this world of mine
As you teach me of things since rearranged,
And teaching thus, we both may learn in kind
Far sweeter lessons yet to be exchanged;
The fleeting night, though half a life at best,
We'll spend as two together, which shall give
Two souls times two, and so your stony rest
Is bare a fraction of the time we'll live.
     We have only the night and yet it seems
     More fair than not, for night gives breath to dreams.


****Fanfiction****

"Gargoyle Ways"
--Miriam Boogaart (boogaarm@river.it.gvsu.edu)

"Gargoyles protect - it is our nature, our purpose.  To lose that is to be
corrupt,
 empty - lifeless."
	--Goliath in "Reawakening"


Little one, the clan called me.  It was more a description than 
a name.  Always the samller and weaker among my rookery brothers 
and sisters, perhaps I roused feelings of protectiveness.  The white 
bearded friend formed the habit of patting my head when he passed by 
me, usually roughing up my hair a bit.
	It was my hair set me apart at first, I think.  Neither black 
nor white, red nor blond, nor even brown, but a misty grey from the 
moment of my birth, fine and silky.  The female friends attempted to 
braid, coil, ponytail, or somehow confine it, but nothing ever lasted 
longer than an hour.  Then wisps of hair, prompted by the winds, once 
again blew into my eyes.
	Goliath knew the art of reading, a human custom the other friends 
regarded skeptically.  They feared Goliath would become a human in his 
heart.  I loved the small library, often sitting there studying the 
tapestries while Goliath read.  I dared not go there alone; Goliath's 
mate warned me against traveling in human places alone.  So I only went 
when Goliath did, and he went when Prince Malcolm unlocked the window 
for him.
	How could any mind and hands form an object so beautiful as 
those tapestries?  Trying to imagine weaving into reality such mystical 
places and creatures as those pictures showed, I found my mind too 
limited.  I had not the right words to shape the images.  One in 
particular, a huge weaving depicting a griffin and a unicorn meeting 
in a circle of flowers while forest creatures looked on, intrigued me.  
Putting myself into the place of a small deer, I wondered what she was 
thinking - the delight her heart mush have felt on observing the meeting 
of two such noble creatures.
	Looking up, I discovered Goliath had left.  He had placed his 
book back on its ledge, but left it open, unclasped, so the breeze 
flitting through the window made the pages flutter.  He had found his 
words, I though, in the books he read.  I picked it up and awkwardly 
turned the pages.  Every page filled with strange symbols jumped out at 
me.  How I wished to know their meanings!
	The pages were decorated with splendid pictures:  animals, 
warriors, castles, and forests.  Leafy vines and red roses twined around 
the symbols.  When I reached the last page, I saw it held a picture of a 
tall tree.  Around its tip shone a circle of light, and a tall man with 
dark hair stood at its base, clasping a sword and shield.
	"And what are you looking at?"
	Goliath's mate had entered the room, her face serious.
	I slipped the book behind my back, feeling vaguely guilty.
	"I...I..." - she gazed steadily at me - "...was just looking at 
pictures," I blurted out in a rush.
	She, Goliath, and I were of the same rookery hatching, yet beside 
them I felt even smaller than usual.  Goliath's mate was second only to 
Goliath himself in protecting our home as a warrior.  Her being female, 
as was I, did not make my position easier.
	She withdrew a little, folding her wings about her body, folding 
her arms beneath her wings.
	"Human pictures."
	"Gargoyles don't draw pictures," I answered, astonished in a 
tiny part of my mind at my own boldness.
	A smile warmed her face.  "Of course not.  Come!  You and I 
shall go hunting for tonight's feast!"
	An honor of sorts.  For some reason, which they never told me, 
the stronger gargoyles usually kept me from hunting.  When protesting 
that I was not *that* small, the white bearded friend would pat my head 
and say of course I was, whereupon I was left standing on the castle 
towers again, watching my siblings glide off into the night.  The 
younger rookery brothers and sisters, smaller yet than I, always took 
turns hunting.  Before tonight, I had felt that I was not a true gargoyle.  
All gargoyles fight and hunt; such actions are elements of protecting, a 
natural part of our existance.  Following that creed tonight, I would 
prove myself a true gargoyle also.
	Goliath's mate used the open window as a stepping stone to the 
winds.  I followed suit, grey hair flying about my face.  I blew a 
strand off my forehead as I scanned the ground below.  Time passed only 
as fast as the wind flowed, and during those first moments, it was lazy and 
content.  Suddenly, my companion pointed to a herd of deer just entering 
the woods.  I nodded.
	Drawing our wings close to our bodies, we plummeted towards the 
earth - faster and faster.  Feeling the wind whip so fiercely against my 
face, through my hair, brought an exaltation deep within my heart.  A 
wild flood of images rushed by:  a startled hawk pulling back as we 
flashed past, crags in the distance drawing closer, the sea throwing its 
jeweled waves upon the shore.
	Goliath's mate reached the deer first.  She gave a piercing cry 
as she brought down her prey among the trees.  The other deer scattered 
in fright; the little ones ran, shaking, to the bushes.
	I thudded to the ground nearby, dropping down so hard, I jarred 
myself to my innermost soul.
	I saw the small deer from the tapestry staring at me from the bushes.
	Turning to me, noticing my paralysis, Goliath's mate asked:
	"Why did you not get one?"
	The small deer edged deeper into the foliage.
	"Little one?"
	Slowing turning, I rested my eyes on her face, but did not really 
see its features.
	"I...do not know," I said, helplessly.  "I just...couldn't."

* * * * *

The white bearded friend rested his hand on my grey hair.  Nearby stood 
Goliath and his mate, watching the hatchlings.  These new rookery 
brothers and sisters had hatched a couple of weeks ago, earlier than 
expected.  Goliath had invited the humans to our celebration.  They 
brought the wooden tables out of the dining hall to the castle 
courtyard.  Bent with the weight of food - meat, fruits, vegetables - 
the tables stood in a semi-circle around the fire.  Talking and laughing 
swirled around us - a unique moment of trust between our two vastly 
different people.
	"Little one," Goliath broke our silence gently, "a difference was 
sensed in you from your own hatching.  Our friend and teacher -" nodding 
toward the white bearded friend "- believed that you would best be kept 
from fighting and hunting, even though they form an integral part of the 
gargoyle way. Without our dedication to protecting, we are not 
gargoyles.  But perhaps -" he searched for the right words "- you are a 
different aspect of our way, a gentler aspect.  There are many forms of 
protecting, all require a brave heart, but not necessarily...hmm...a 
soldier."
	"Yes..."  Hestitantly, I let the word tremble off my lips.
	Goliath's mate took my small hand in her larger, stronger one.  
"After tonight, surely you can understand this.  I apologize.  I should 
never have invited you to hunt."
	"Yes..."
	"There now, lass," comforted the white bearded friend with a 
laugh.  "Perhaps Goliath will teach ye t'read!"
	I sensed a stiffening in my heart.  "No."  Clearly, sharply, I 
said:  "I do not wish to return to the library."
	I left them standing there, illuminated by the humans' bonfire, 
confused maybe.  How could I explain about the small deer from the 
tapestry?  I could not find the right words.
	The hatchlings stretched their tiny wings and crawled around on 
their tiny hands and feet.  Female and male friends alike carried them to 
the feast caught by Goliath's mate and the other gargoyles and even humans
- but not me.
	I knew, in my heart, that the events of this night proved the 
truth of Goliath's words.  But they were hard to accept.  If I could not 
be a normal protector, following the tradition of fighting and hunting, 
what then was I to be?

* * * * *

The child princess Katherine laughed as she evaded her nurse and skipped 
out to greet the dawn.  Perched on her balcony, I saw her nightgown 
flapping about her ankles, her brown hair tangled from sleep, as she 
hopped on to the balcony.  Her breath caught when she noticed I crouched 
there, awaiting the dawn also, with a different kind of waiting.
	The nurse gathered Katherine to her, fearing me, though I gave 
no movement to alarm her.  The sun dashed its first colors over the 
landscape, and I wondered what it would be like to sleep for a thousand 
years...and wake up with the skill of weaving tapestries.

* * * * *

Awakening the next dusk, I found Katherine sitting at my side, painting 
on a rough piece of parchment with a brush of animal fur and paints 
borrowed from a monk.  Giving me a merry grin, she held up her artwork 
for my inspection.
	"See, noo," she explained, "this gargoyles is ye.  An' I painted 
the sun, so ye might see it."  Observing my grave face, she inquired, 
"Do ye nae like it?"
	I smiled, assuring her.  "Princess, it is wonderful.  May I 
keep it?"
	"But gargoyles dinnae keep things o'their oon," puzzled Katherine.
	"No, but I am - a different - gargoyle, Princess."
	"Oh."  As a child, she understood me perfectly.  "Ye may keep 
it then."
	Lighting the torches inside the castle, a maid passed by the 
balcony smelling of meat pies and ale.  Soft, flickering firelight 
covered the last retreat of the sun, spilling lightly over the painting.  
I had finally found my own words.
	"Princess, will you teach me to paint...like this?"
	The nurse was heard puffing up the stairs.  Katherine gave a 
solemn nod.  "Promise," she vowed and dashed to snuggle under the 
blankets on her bed before her nurse arrived.
	Jumping off the balcony, I caught the winds, gliding over to the 
open library window.  Goliath sat on his customary stool, reading.  I 
walked over to him and asked:
	"Friend, is there a place here where I may keep this painting?"
	Goliath took my hand, holding it as he would an equal's, and 
answered:
	"Always, friend."

Author's Note:  I set this story when Katherine was younger than seen in 
the episode "Long Way to Morning."  My characterization of her is based on
the idea that at so young an age, she was not yet prejudiced against
gargoyles.


* * * * *

"A Gargoyles Close Encounter - Almost a true story"
-- Sue Cannella  (sue4gh3bl@aol.com)

     Those of you who have watched Gargoyles long enough will understand that
once you become a believer you are very aware of when it is sunset and start
looking up around tall buildings - a lot - just in case.  You don't even have
to live in a big city.  Little New England towns have clock towers too.  But
if you should happen to visit New York - well, let me tell you my story. 
     Last fall when I was returning from London with a stopover and flight
connection at New York's LaGuardia, it became an overnight stay instead.
 I'll skip all the tedious, cumbersome details of flight delays, fouled up
schedules, missed connections, and so on.  Suffice to say a lot of passengers
were stuck in New York with no connecting flights til the next day, and the
airlines had to put all of us up in hotels for the night.  The whole
situation in addition to an exhausting 7-plus hour flight and a leap across 5
time zones left my brain a bit "fluffy."  Would you believe all I could think
of was gargoyles?
     As all of us stranded passengers (a LOT of people) were cramming into
airport limos to be taken to hotels en-masse, all I could think was,  "We're
in New York.  This is *their* city.  It's late at night.  They're out there,
patroling the city and keeping watch."  The skyline was just right too.  
     I don't even know the name of the hotel I was taken to, but it was right
downtown in the center of the city and I was given a room on the 10th or 11th
floor.  From there the skyline was even more "right."  Better still, from my
window I had a spectacular view of the Chrysler Building no more that a
couple of blocks away.  Well, I don't know how long I stood in the window
looking for Elisa and Broadway up on one of those falcon heads.  And I was
sure Goliath would come circling around any minute.  Of course, he would want
to make sure all was well with the guests in this particular hotel.  I could
not see the police station clock tower or Xanatos' Eyrie with the castle on
top, but they were probably just around on the other side of the hotel.
     Anyway, I slept very well that night.  Ordinarily, in the city, you
cannot see the sunrise from street level, but up as high as I was, the next
morning it looked exactly like it does in the show with the sun coming up
between the skyscrapers.  Again, I could not see the clock tower, but was
certain the clan was settled in there for the day.  Of course 1 or 2 of them
could have been roosting on the roof of the hotel.....just out of sight...
Pity all those poor unfortunate souls who've never watched the series of
Gargoyles and have no vision or imagination to see them with.

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****That's all, folks.****