Sir Galleth Cooper - 1330
Verily! I shall regale you, fair reader, with the tale of my rise to both knighthood and thiefdom! 'Tis a tale of heroics, danger, and one in which I became closer to my birthright! With this quill, I Sir Galleth of the Knights of the Cooper Order offer my own tutelage to this hallowed book!
Why it seems as if twere only yesterday when I was traveling throughout mighty England with my family. We made our living as a band of nomadic performers, delighting the public and nobility alike with grand acrobatics and colorful comedic antics. Twas the most grueling experience of my young life. Even as I spent the days juggling for the easily amused masses, I knew that the life of a jester was not one for me.
Then I beheld my first knights' match. As we waited to perform a half-time show for the local lord in a champions' arena, I watched in astonishment as proud warriors dueled for glory, proving their might against each other in the name of the king. An unbridled urge within me said I was to become one among their ranks. And I would not wait another day longer as a clown.
While my family were preoccupied, I snuck away from the jester's circle and scrounged up a spare suit of armor. With nary regard for the rules or my own safety, I entered myself in the sword dueling tournament under a false title. Before long, I found myself pitted against a hulking knight clad in elaborate armor and wielding a claymore. Armed only with a shortsword, I used my acrobatic training to dodge the knight's lumbering attacks and swiftly countered him with agility and precise hits. Eventually, the knight was taken down, and I had become victor in my first, and very impromptu, duel!
It was only then that I learned that my opponent was until that moment undefeated. The crowd cheered for this unknown late-entry and I basked in the glory of a knight-for-a-day. The lord himself in the spectator box rose and congratulated me on the impressive victory and asked for my name. But before I could tell him, my confounded parents ousted me then and there, revealing that I was not a true knight in any way. And thus, the lord sentenced me to a life of imprisonment for impersonating a knight. As I was carted away, I could hear the heckles of my father. "A knight is honorable and obedient! You are no knight! You are but a thief!"
And so I found myself shackled to the wall of a dungeon, my future appearing bleak. Then, a kindly old raccoon helped me out of my chains by picking their locks. He revealed himself to me as Drake Cooper and claimed to be my long lost uncle, though I was firmly skeptical. He told me that he had spent his life looking for my family to pass down a sacred book from my ancestors. But my family had refused him constantly and kept me from learning the knowledge of my lineage. With no reason to disprove him, I agreed to take the tome he had kept secret in that dungeon. A Roman title was inscribed upon its cover: Thievius Raccoonus.
Drake Cooper said that the book had been handed down in our family for the past 200 years, being taken from Arabia and all throughout Europe. It contained writings on thieving mastery as told by my ancestors Salim al-Kupar and Slytunkhamen. Drake had even contributed minor tips from his own thieving knowledge. I was compelled by these ancient words and knew that if I could master these techniques, then I would be a prisoner no longer. And so I trained within the dungeon, strengthening my body and learning to sense my thief aura. Soon I was ready to make my daring escape.
After several weeks, I waited for the next guard to come in for inspection and managed to incapacitate his hooked pike. I would use this weapon as a method to scale the high stone wall of the dungeon cell and make my way to the only window up above. I offered to carry Drake with me to freedom. But the tired old man insisted that he would not be able to join me and that he knew his time was upon him. His life's effort to preserve the Thievius Raccoonus would not go in vain.
With the book in tow, along with the guard's armor and weapon, I scaled the castle walls and broke free of my prison under cover of night. But just as I leaped safely onto the ground outside the gate, I was met with astonishment as the very same towering knight from my fateful duel stood before me; it seemed that he had been employed as captain of the guard. At that moment, I was sure I'd be slain. But the knight bid me no ill and said he had been waiting to see if I would break from the dungeon. Naturally I stood in befuddlement.
The knight said that he and his cohorts were impressed by my foolhardy match, being a commoner sneaking his way onto the fighting ground of warriors. He offered to join me to form a court of knights to embark on quests. This included seeking revenge on the lord who imprisoned me, attacking his castle less than a swallow's flight away. When he asked me my true identity, I proclaimed that I was the descendant of honorable thieves who stole from dastardly criminals (and I was right!).
And so began the formation of the most daring knights the kingdom had ever known: the Knights of the Order of Cooper, in honor of my true family legacy. Together we traversed the land, recruiting brash knights one by one, with the sole purpose of robbing vast riches from only the most corrupt lords and dukes. I harnessed my skills as a Cooper-born thief, breaching the most secure castle walls and taking on attackers tenfold. We proved to be honorable knights in our own right, even if it meant bending the laws of the English crown!
Yea it would not have been without my inheritance of the Thievius Raccoonus. In reverence of my ancestors I shall pass down their knowledge written within these parchments along with my own, down to my offspring in the hopes of forging a Cooper line that will stand the test of time. May all who carry this tome also carry the boldness of a knight, and the cunning of a thief! Tallyho!