Newts Under Threat!
Dear Boggies,
The Great Crested Newts of Duckford are in danger once again! These noble beasts have defined the character of Duckford for hundreds of years, but plans to develop the local area could render it entirely newtless. Now, I know the Gaian of Duckford has given mixed messages about the newts in the past, but we can surely all agree that it wouldn't be the same without them.
We need to take action!!
If you wish to participate in the charity jam sale, please make your way to Duckford Town Hall from midday on August 21st. Hope to see lots of you there!
I mean, I know it isn't quite the end of the world, but try to look at it from the newts' perspective….
“And… you're sure you want to go ahead with this?”
“Quite sure, yes. My… children sleep, underneath the coppice and the heath. It is for the best that I join them.”
“You're not Wytham Wood, you know. Not the old one, anyway.”
“Perhaps not. But I'm not Ferne Wilders, either. Not any more.”
“We'll… take care of the Boggies for you. You know that, don't you?”
“Yes. Yes, I do know. And thank you. Thank you for finding someone to take my place. Thank you for keeping our little group going, this past year. Alex, Anwar, Gideon, Bryan, Jim - thank you all, for everything.”
In the decade following Terra's attempted takeover of the Bodyguards of Gaia, a number of safeguards were put into place to prevent the possibility of similar incursions in the future. Greater administrative discipline facilitated improved transparency at the highest level of the organisation, while election to Committee was formalised with the long-awaited introduction of fully anonymised voting. The bulk of these reforms came out of an independent report by the Charity Watchdog, a report that had been requested by the Committee itself at the suggestion of Alex Crow. Over the ten years that followed the report's publication, the Bodyguards of Gaia began to resemble the organisation we know today.
A similarly dramatic shift occurred in the Bodyguards' attitude towards Celestials. This was clearly driven in part by recent revelations regarding Gaia's own stated sympathies, and in part by changes to the composition of the Committee. A number of the more recently appointed officers, most notably Alex Crow and Gideon Schoenbaum, argued not only for tolerance towards Celestials but for the potential inclusion of angels and demons within the Bodyguards of Gaia. Accordingly, the year 2025 saw the recruitment of the organisation's first Celestial members.
Significantly, the Bodyguards were at this time increasing their ties with other organisations dedicated to the protection of the world. Indeed, by 2030, it was possible for the Missive to describe the Bodyguards of Gaia and the Hallowed Chamber as sister groups, a claim that would have been unthinkable only ten years prior.
- Excerpt from Bogged Down: A History of the Bodyguards of Gaia, by Evelyn Pike