THE LEONID SAGA By John Burkitt and David Morris A Part Five of Chronicles of the Pride Lands

FOREWORD BY THE AUTHORS:

This is a return to my roots as a fanfic author when David first expressed curiosity about the spiritual and mythological dimensions of Chronicles. Now I take the luxury of exploring those themes in a way that will help you share in the legacy a lioness would seek to pass to her cubs.

These stories are arranged in a way that makes the most sense. The storytellers themselves came from different times, and as you recognize old friends from the Chronicles series, you’ll notice that the times the stories were actually told would suggest a far different arrangement.

In three ways I put myself at risk before you. First by attempting to carry forward a self-contained story cycle. Second by undertaking a work that requires a different style. Third, by holding my personal ideas and feelings up to public scrutiny. The lions have a belief that if you can look at your reflection in the water and say something to it and not have to turn your glance away, then it must be so. I look at this reflection of mine and say, “I will take the risk,” and I do not turn away.

John Burkitt, Nashville, Tennessee

March 23, 1997

The material you are about to read represents a lot of history. In the simplest fashion, it is the history of the Leonid Saga, a tale of the heroes, villains, and events that are shrouded in mystery and spoken of as legends from lions and lionesses to their cubs.

It is also a deep personal look into John and I. The stories that follow have ranged the entire gamut of our “Chronicles” series...but most of them are what originally inspired us to tell the tale in the first place.

We invite you to share them with us.

David Morris, Wilmington, North Carolina

March 23, 1997