Sacred Heart Academy - Clelian Yearbook (Hamden, CT)

Page 8 text:

,mg 5 ' 5 if 1-1 W x , A V ,ig Q , T ia J EAA,

Page 7 text:

...alfgmax .V me upon the bill haos reigned. Demons of the seething Darkness danced through the helpless country- side, clicking their greedy fangs with glee. They crawled from the Abyss of Ignorance to hunt the innocent villagers. Excelsi- or, they knew, was dead. Excelsior protected the gold- en kingdom of Academe, bask- ing its snowy mountains and verdant valleys in peace and se- curity. That is, until the people allowed the great ideal to tar- nish. They no longer strove to reach 'lever higher. They were satisfied with convenience and speed and profit. As their hearts blackened, so did the land. Soon crops failed, tempests abounded and the demons were freed from their prison of etemal torment. The people of the kingdom cried for aid. Death seemed their only ally. Excelsior, they whispered, Only Excelsior can save us from this evil plight. The whisper became a chant: the chant, a demand, the de- mand, a storm, until a meeting of the Great High Council was called for the next moon rise. The demons, they knew, weren't their only enemies. Time, too, conspired to destroy them.

Page 9 text:

,MH me upon the bill oomed! UWe are doomed. Our armies cannot destroy them. Our bribes do not convince them. Our spies cannot under- mine them. Academe is lost. The knight sank back into the chair, trembling with the horrid truth that demons of sinister Ig- norance were ravaging the homeland. Five keys, the ancient, sage magic-user rasped. She emerged from one shadowy corner of the throne room and glared at the troubled faces of the Council. UThe five keys to Excelsior. l'That's simply a babes' sto- ry, crone, the knight snapped, HDo not be foolish. Fools are we all, insolent knight, she replied coldly, Hfleed me or watch as Academe drovms in the corrupting darkness. The knight was silent. Ulf we are to find Excelsior, we must regain the five keys to open the Door of the Heart. They are truth, unity, victory . . 'll object to this nonsense, this folly, the knight cried, I object most strongly! l'Yes, the queen noted, speaking for the first time that night, your opinion is acknowledged. UAnd ignoredl cackled the crone. The Queen rose slowly, reaching for her sceptre, ul decree, as of this moon rise, the quest for the great Excelsior has begun. The Council nodded quietly. Outside in the darkness, they could hear the shrieks of the hungry demons.