Dealing with Emotions: Can Even a Wizard Handle the Truth?

They will tell you that it is not easy to handle the Planet when you are confronted by the truth. But I am Blackwolf the Dragonmaster, and truth can be, if ye be Wizard like me, dark, cold and empty --- or, sometimes, enlightening. Over time, I have discovered, truth can be a double-edged sword. Wielded properly, and by the truest of heroes, it can serve to lead those who would do only good into a new tunnel of freedom. Wielded improperly, and by the Forces of Darkness, the truth can destroy, even break, a man's spirit.

As you may have heard, despite a rain storm that seriously threatened to postpone things, our Medieval Festival at Fort Tryon Park went off 'thout a hitch --- with one exception. My dear colleague, Merdwin the Mediocre, is, as is your Dragonmaster himself, on an emotional rollercoaster of sorts. Know, then, that Scott Payne's father, Chuck, is in intensive care at Ellis Hospital Campus in Schenectady, New York; Scott, his older brother Michael, and their mother Debbie are all at Chuck's bedside. Chuck is breathing in a ventilator, unable to talk at the moment, yet capable of using his eyes to answer yes or no to anything; I cannot begin to tell you how hard an occasion this is for me.

That said, with the exception of the Halloween Parade, I am herewith postponing all my further public appearances until I am certain that Charlie Payne can make a full recovery. I once said at the very cusp of 9/11 that there are some Dragons that not even Master Blackwolf can tame, much less slay. I now find myself facing that reality once more.

Safe journeys, my children.

Master Blackwolf