Startled Birds 

by Carlo Samson
<U20190@UICVM>

Seasons Greetings to all our new and current readers, and welcome again to another edition of _DargonZine_! Yes, the previous issue was another single-story blockbuster; while we endeavour to have at least two stories in an issue, sometimes a large story must be printed in its entirety in order to preserve the narrative integrity.

Some of you may recognize two of the authors featured in issue 6-3. Jeff Lee ("Heroic Couplet") was a member of the Dargon Project in 1988, and his story "Stranger in the Mist" appeared in _FSFNet_ 11-1. He is now back with us and is currently at work on his next story.

The other returnee is David "Orny" Liscomb, of whom I made mention in the commentary for issue 6-2. Orny founded the Dargon Project in 1984 and was its mentor until he stopped putting out _FSFnet_ (the predecessor of _DargonZine_) in mid-1988. At that time he, like many college graduates, dropped off the net and was never heard from again. "'Bout 'Majin'" is his first story since returning, and he also has a considerably more ambitious story that is currently in the editing cycle. We're glad to have his familiar style gracing our pages once again.

Lastly, in this issue we have the sixth installment of Jon Evans' "Sons of Gateway" series, as well as one by this writer which wraps up most of the loose ends from my previous stories. Upcoming issues will feature the conclusion of the "Campaign for the Laraka" series, in addition to stories by Bill Erdley and Max Khaytsus. So stay with us, tell your friends about us, and let us know how we're doing.