The Kingdom of Toz actually extended to the mountain ridges near the sky. On the west side of Toz was a single, winding road--once only a trail. It crossed over a pass to the land beyond, the Kingdom of Wind. And to the south, Toz's sky-blue river crashed over snow-white waterfalls and snaked its way into the Kingdom of Lakeonia. Wind and Lakeonia were relatively unknown to the outer world until recent times.


Toz
Up until several hundred years ago, the Toz family ruled Toz; the benevolent Duke & Duchess of Toz were the last real royalty in the kingdom. Lately a "Wiz" Wizard, who loves practical jokes, trinkets, and gadgets, has ruled Toz. He is a short fellow with permanently bloodshot eyes and a nose to match. Wiz wears fancy tennis shoes year 'round, snow or no snow.

For thousands of years Toz was naturally beautiful with meadows, mountain streams, and amazing forests that sheltered spirits. Over the years its ambitious citizens prospered and Toz grew. The population became bigger and bigger; Toz was a unique place with both history and character. It attracted people from faraway kingdoms and lands. Most visitors and newcomers, however, tended to flow into Toz from the vast Kingdom of More, to the north.

As the number of people in Toz increased, the number of rules for living together increased. More and more committees and meetings were required as Tozites struggled with the changes. Growth seemed to breed both conflicts and rules. Sitting in meetings was becoming the kingdom's prime pastime.

Wiz Wizard steadfastly maintained one guiding principle: "Bigger is better; more is merrier." Of course, not every Tozite was sympathetic to this creed. In fact, more and more slipped away from Toz when they could. Mostly they went west; a few went south. Occasionally thrill seekers ventured eastward over the crests to the great desert, the Kingdom of Chance. Those that returned from Chance were usually empty-handed.

Gradually at first, then faster and faster, Toz become "greater Toz." Wiz and his legion of followers were dedicated to commerce as their driving force. Anything difficult to translate into $ terms--e.g., beauty, privacy, quietness, safety--didn't cut much ice with them, in a manner of speaking.

But in current-day Toz, almost everyone is at least semi-rich on paper even as some old timers wring their hands and shake their heads. On crowded weekends and celebration days, it seems that the people milling around the plaza smile only grudgingly, if at all. In a way, it is as if nature has surrendered in Toz, and living in Toz is inching toward becoming a spectator sport. Interestingly, the excesses of Toz are overflowing into the nearby kingdoms. Wind, to the west, welcomes them.

Wind
This kingdom is situated in a long, verdant valley. A dozen of snow-covered peaks around Wind can be seen from Toz on a clear day there. The dark brown soil on the floor of the valley still supports crops and cattle, and Wind has a steady dribble of visitors from the flat lands even farther west in the Kingdom of More.

In earlier times the people of Wind were known to cherish independence, privacy, and personal freedom. They always had plenty to eat from the land and fish-filled lakes that spot the valley, fed by the glaciers high above. Wind was known for "community without conformity"--a motto hand-carved into an archway near the entrance to the valley.

Due to their relative isolation, Windians have always put up with some inconveniences, but they experienced few, real discomforts. Historically, Windians actually prided themselves for "doing without some modern" things in favor of the authenticity that occupied the space of those things un-bought. But lately trouble seems to be brewing in Wind.

As a result of a poker game involving Wind real estate, a member of the Windvane family is the Premier of the kingdom today. He goes by the name, "Major," and he has reigned, as a practical matter, for almost forty years. Major is the last in a long line of Windvanes; he actually moved to Wind from the Kingdom of Chance when he was young. There have been rumors off and on forever that the Windvanes are an illegal offshoot of the original Toz clan, but it has never been proven. The Premier shrugs off such an idea with a "harrumph."

Major is a large man who has distinguished himself by standing for so very little. His motto, often spoken with gusto at public gatherings, is: "Go with the wind." He has refined one skill: Major can take all sides on any issue. And he prides himself in his ability to tell most every Windian exactly what she or he wants to hear. In recent decades, Major has picked up but one new idea. He loves "market forces," which he solemnly refers to as, "the breath of public preference." Under the hands-off approach of Major and friends, Wind has been absorbing a lot of the challenges flowing out of Toz.

Major usually wears clothes one size too small to emphasize his frugalness even though he owns the only bank in the Kingdom of Wind. He can be seen on the street each weekday as he limps along to open the bank with a giant key hooked by a small gold chain to his wide belt. The belt is always cinched tightly to contain his generous mid-section.

No one in Wind is sure just where the kingdom is headed. What Windian locals see on special occasions scares them. Major suddenly appears riding one of his three elephants, and the animal strolls around the heart of Wind, which contains a loose connection of narrow, winding streets and lanes. On one side of Major's elephant is a flashing, battery-powered, neon sign: "Wind Welcomes YOU!"

It often takes the Premier three or four hours to make a complete tour, however, as his elephant will only make right turns. So the two spend much time going in circles. Major is folksy and colorful, though, and that is enough to keep him in office even as the bucolic lifestyle of Wind ebbs. Of course, Windvane owns a lot of Wind, too.

Lakeonia
To the south of Toz is the Kingdom of Lakeonia. It is also a special, natural place. The village where most of the people of Lakeonia live is on the shore where the mountains run down to meet the mighty lake.

There are uninterrupted vistas in all directions in Lakeonia. This gives everyone a spaciousness that's hard to find elsewhere, and the sight of the lake is part of the daily diet for living for the people there. One famous traveler, a Bark Tain, observed many years ago that Lakeonia represents the very essence of high-mountain ruralness.

Holding on to what they have has not been an easy task for the people of Lakeonia. But they are a hardy breed. Some years back they elected tanned, pig-tailed, Princess Sunshine to guide the kingdom. When she ran for the top office, Princess campaigned on a theme that leadership requires something more than a batch of techniques for finding the path of least resistance. Her campaign buttons read: "The Path of Least Resistance goes Nowhere." She still humbly wears two or three of the buttons on her ample chest when she presides over public meetings.

At the moment, business is good, but not great, in Lakeonia. But business has not been the organizing principle in years past. As in the neighboring Kingdom of Wind, however, there seems to be mounting pressure on Lakeonia to become like everywhere else.

What will happen to Lakeonia...to Wind...to Toz?


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