Tell us a story, old man.” The old man smiled and began to speak in a deep harmonic voice. Slowly with the magic of woven words, in the dancing and crackling firelight, the cold was swept away, the room faded and all who heard became entranced, transported to a land and a time they had never known. When he was done, he raised his eyes from the fire and surveyed the contented crowd around him. He grinned, and thought. “It was a simple tale. Really.”