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The curriculum commenced with the hornbook in order to learn the English alphabet, and thereafter was largely devoted to learning the Latin grammar, based on Lily's Grammaticis Latina (this Lily was the grandfather of the playwright John Lily--often spelled Lyly), and later translating and reading the standard Roman authors. They began with what was considered the relatively easy Latin of Aesop's Fables (translated from Greek), then Caesar, and then moved on to Cicero, Virgil, Ovid (the author that seems to have been Shakespeare's favorite), Horace, Suetonius, Livy, and, notably for a dramatist, Seneca, Terence and (perhaps) Plautus . School began at dawn (six or seven depending on the season) and proceeded most of the day, with breaks for meals, six days a week.

The other significant educational opportunity afforded all Elizabethans was mandatory attendance at church, where he was exposed to the Geneva Bible. Church attendance also brought him under the influence of The Book of Common Prayer, Foxe's Acts and Monuments, homilies and preaching.

It was at school that he met and became friends with a young lad by the name of Bill Shakespeare, son of a local butcher. It was Bill who taught him the love of the written word. They were very close friends from 1577 to 1580, when William's interest turned towards women, and eventually got married in 1582.

In 1589, on his 18th birthday, his father send Thomas to London to be schooled in the art of Defense from the English masters. For two years he studied in London, till he felt that they no longer had anything to teach. The art came easily to him, and he wished to learn what the French had to teach, so he wrote his father and asked for the money to go to France. Since the family's estate was doing well enough, and he had his other sons to take care of things, he obliged Thomas, who was always his favorite.

Thomas left for France in 1591, and that was the last time he spoke to his father. He took a good sum of monies with him, enough to last him several years. He spent two years learning from various French instructors, and even an imported Italian who had himself studied with Vincentio Saviolo. in 1593 he ran up a gambling debt that he was unable to pay, and instead of accepting fate, he accused his opponent of cheating (later it was found that he was correct) This was the turning point of Thomas' life. His opponent, challenged him to a duel, a mistake on his opponents part. The next day Thomas found himself the victor, but on the run. He went from town to town, penniless, performing songs, and telling stories (the ones that Will had told to him as a child) to earn food and lodging, till another fateful day when a group of German mercenaries took offense to the story that Thomas told. They in turn challenged him to a duel. On the morrow they indeed did meet and start their duel. They were evenly matched, and before they came to a conclusive end, the constables heard the racket and they were forced to end abruptly. Well impressed were the Germans with Thomas' skill, and they forgave him and invited them to join their mercenary group. Tired of being hungry, and thinking of the excitement of war, he accepted the invitation, and spent the next three years as a Landsknecht. It was during these times that he traveled to Spain, Italy, Poland, and all over Europe. It wasn't till 1597 that he heard of his fathers demise and his thoughts were drawn to home.

He arrived back in Stratford upon Avon to a sad predicament. His father had been dead for 2 years, and his brothers were either dead as well, killed by an outbreak of some dread disease, or missing. Nobody had been left to tend the land, so it had been reclaimed by the crown. Thomas did not know what to do. He headed to his uncle's lands in Scotland. Upon the road he was ambushed, and almost killed. All of his belongings were stolen and he was left for dead. Luckily the blow that entered his abdomen missed all major organs. He was found by a farmer, and taken into his house and healed. The farmer sent word to Thomas' uncle, who came and fetched him. His uncle was disturbed to find out what had happened in England, however he had troubles of his own. He gave Thomas money to get him established on his own, and 9 yards of the family tartan (to keep him from being waylaid when traveling to visit) and told him to set his suit in court, he might be able to use their cousins (Robert Dudley) influence in court to regain their lands.

He spent until 1599 in the court of Elizabeth pleading his suite, but failed on all accounts. At this time he decided it was time to make his own mark on the world and set off for Caid. A wealthy land in the new world. This is where the story is now.

The Person who is Kevon Houghton

Kevon was born in a suburb of Los Angeles in the early 1970's. He graduated High School in the same town he was born in, only moving once in his entire life. At the age of 17 he enlisted in the Air Force in the Delayed Enlistment Program. He left for Basic Training in San Antonio TX. the July after graduation. After Basic, he spent a year in Biloxi MS in advanced training for Avionics Aerospace Technologies. Upon graduation, he left for his first duty station, Rhine-Main (Frankfurt) Germany. It was here that he first discovered the SCA. Due to the Desert Storm conflict, he was unable to participate more than a few times. From Germany, he went back to San Antonio and became more active. It was here that he developed his skill in Costuming, Brewing, Heraldry, and Rapier. In 1998 he moved home to Los Angeles, and that is where he is now. When he's not at SCA events, he enjoys watching movies, hanging out with his friends, working on his 1968 Classic Mustang, Web Design, and weightlifting. Kevon Has an associates degree in Applied Avionics Aerospace Technologies and is a Microsoft Certified Professional.

The Dudley surname is Kevon's fathers, mothers, mothers maiden name, and directly links him from there to Sir Robert Dudley, one of Queen Elizabeth's love interests. The reasoning behind adding in Shakespeare into Thomas' history is base on the following information about Kevon's ancestors.

There is a theory, argued by E. A. J. Honigmann (Shakespeare: "The Lost Years" - 1985), that has Shakespeare located in Lancashire in the household of the powerful, Catholic Hoghton family. The link between faraway Lancashire and Stratford, as this theory has it, would have been Shakespeare's last schoolmaster John Cottom. The theory is based on rather circumstantial evidence found in a Hoghton will, asking his kinsman to take care of "...William Shakeshaft, now dwelling with me..." along with references to plays, play-clothes and musical instruments. The theory has it that Shakespeare was engaged by the Hoghtons as a schoolmaster on Cottom's recommendation (Cottom being a Lancashire native living near the Hoghtons) and then began, naturally, participating in their private theatricals, and then passed through the Stanleys (who had many holdings in Lancashire to Lord Strange's men, a theater company with which Shakespeare was definitely associated. The theory is presented convincingly in Honigmann's book, but can't be demonstrated with certainty.