1

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
“Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore;
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”–Edgar Allan Poe (The Raven)

1

Three hours later, long after the compound computer system cleaned away the remnants of Gerald and Robert, Trevor sat and sipped his fourth glass of a thousand-year Appleton rum. He looked out on the silver shimmer of the winding river with glossy, drunken eyes. Inebriated with his thoughts swirling, he caught glimpses of a pack of werewolves running in the shadows of the redlit forest. Then he cast a somber glance up to the crimson moon of Lunaris. He watched the molten scarlet swirl as the moon continued its climb across the heavens. –Jeffrey LeBlanc (Crimson Moon)