From: "Joshua Whalen" <nicodemus>

"Thoughts for Season 5"

One thought that hit me when I heard mention of the Knights Templar was that perhaps New Camelot need not be a country. Perhaps Arthur decides instead to simply form a chivalrous order, much like the crusader orders of medieval times. Of course, they could be based out of a castle and area that they call 'New Camelot', but they'd be more peacekeepers with Arthur as 'Grandmaster', rather than a nation and king respectively. There are several advantages to this:

1. The good guys don't need to figure out where and how to build a new nation. All they would need for a headquarters is a perfectly mundane building, manor, or castle and some surrounding lands, rather than a vast swath of territory. They would also not have to worry about citizenship issues, as any 'mundane' (non-knightly) staff would be employees rather than citizens of a country.

2. It gives Arthur and his knights far more freedom of movement. Let's face it, if Arthur's a king, he's going to be buried in the details of running a nation (especially a modern one); can you see the President of the United States or the Prime Minister of Great Britain being able to go questing? His closest associates wouldn't be much better off, as they'd likely be made ministers of some sort in a new nation. On the other hand, as knights of a chivalrous order, Arthur and Co. would be expected to go out and quest and right wrongs, etc.

3. It would be a lot easier to establish good relations with the major powers. I don't think very many 'power people' would be pleased with the creation of a new nation, especially with some 'nut who thinks he's King Arthur' in charge. With him going out to affect change in the world and interferring with the 'established order', people might even lump him in with other 'rogue states'. On the other hand, an organization of peacekeeping people devoted to helping humanity might be seen as a very good thing by other nations; they might even be able to get some sort of charter from the UN that would legitimize their role. Also, they would have the problem of political boundaries to worry about.

There are other things, but I think you all get my drift at this point. I'd like to know what you think of this idea.

As for potential villians, I had the thought of including Quetzalcoatl's nemisis, Tezcatlipoca (Tez). There are a few reasons for this:

1. Tez was shown as a powerful warrior; I think the jaguar was the animal associated with him. This would make him capable to taking on a band of heroes who are primarily warriors.

2. Tez had a powerful magical charm in the form of an obsidian mirror that allowed him to see 'into the hearts of men'. Put bluntly, he'll be able to know their deepest desires and darkest character flaws; it would make good drama as he would put such knowledge to use against the heroes.

3. Tez is extremely an subtle trickster, capable of assuming many forms and roles, with one goal in life: the creation of strife, war, and misery. He uses his powers and abilities to goad people into hating each other and fighting, though in his case, he likes to do this on the scale of whole civilizations; Loki might cause misery for a few hundred people at a time, while Tez would likely try to start World War III or something of that nature. Mind you, I said he's something of a trickster so he won't simply walk in and fling his powers around; he's far more likely to go in and play the part of 'the innocent person/sage elder/whatever giving advice to the unknowing leader', get some patsy to 'take the heat', and then walk quietly away when everything comes crashing down.

Just a thought for a villian who might appear once or twice.

Nicodemus