Thank you so much to all those who never lost faith in The Tale. I know I did many times. It is both extremely touching and gratifying to know that there are people who appreciated all the hours of time I've poured into a project such as this. I thank my wife, for her unwavering support, my daughter for always wanting to hear the next verse. I thank my good friend Og Maciel who reviewed this book and gave wonderful advice and Nikhil Dhandre for his excellent LaTeX support....

Five years have passed, since last I wrote      and so much more makes sense. My penchant for this structure,      and the cadence I dispense. We've rescued close to ninety now      our own community. The cagèd ones from underground      no longer bound by key. Though Bertholdt gone, we found a lab,      with function to decrypt, and spend our time rebuilding      what humanity hath stripped....

My love I though was lost      I shed my tear. And through the valley dark      I wade in fear. Yet love was waiting there for me      I know. And landed deep      in love my body slow. When hope was gone      I felt alone 'tis true. and prayed just once      for love to rise anew. And answered me      you did when at my worst....

At last the journey is over. I must admit there were several times that I thought I would fail my arduous task. Poetry would be a quick alternative to a novel I told myself. I can fit a verse in and around my daily routine. Yet the truth was far from it. I never appreciated how long it would take sometimes to write a single line. I would stare at the page, willing the line to end itself, getting tired of the same rhymes, replacing the word for another, only to change it back again....