Ralph and the Pixie

‘One tribe of Elves became more numerous and powerful than its neighbours. Its chief Elder, growing annoyed by constant bickering over ownership of stray herd animals and disputes over property lines, ordered a census taken of all the runes used in ownership and demarcation. As a result, the first scrolls were created. But there remained a problem; describing what the various runes meant, so that all could understand them.

‘The first solution was to create a table of characters which represented specific meanings, values and attributes. Not only were many characters used freely, with no specific meaning, but a practice existed at that time, whereby the meaning of runes was changeable and secret, as they were used to conceal information. (That practice continues to this very day, but not as a mean-spirited, petty game amongst dishonest, semi-literate land-owners and people of business; our legal profession was among the first of the professions to be reformed).

‘The tabling system worked, but it was extremely tedious and complex; few were able to master it with confidence. Worse yet, many mistrusted what they weren’t able to understand for themselves, suspecting that these early Scribes meant to dupe them. In fact,’ he added with an ambiguous smile, ‘some did misuse their knowledge to that end.