Hello, godlings. Have you missed us?

I am pleased at how well your progress is coming along. Some of you know where you must go. Some of you have even acquired your first artifacts. There is more to be done, of course, but I am pleased thus far. Soon, you will not need to hide behind your current shells.

That does, however, beg a question. Can you be trusted to be yourselves again? Can the world be trusted to handle you? There is only one way to find out.

Your test begins at sunrise tomorrow, on the Equinox. It ends at sunrise the next day. We will be watching you.

This may seem rushed, as Ogma has only just joined our ranks, however we have been decidedly stalled in our progress. I fear we may be falling behind. And I dislike wasting time.

Arthur, have you acquired the clue from Gawain's shop, or is that required? I can have it collected if so. We should get it into Ogma's hands immediately.

Today is a sad day for the world of knowledge.

After 244 years, the printed Encyclopedia Britannica will no longer exist. Sure, there will still be the digital editions and all, but it's just not the same experience. Not the smell of the pages, the careful illuminations, the weight of all that information right there in your hands... It was always an investment in learning, solid and dependable. I'm going to miss it.

So, okay, I'm posting this during my planning period (I teach English to high school students), but I did get the email inviting me here.

My name is Alan Cleary--"Big Al," if you like--and, like I said, I'm a teacher. I also have two awesome kids, my son Devin, who is 16 and one of my students, and my daughter Harper, who's 11.

What's this place all about?