They dance wildly outside the den, torches blazing in the darkness.  They make noises, many unintelligible vocal intonations that no sensible one hears; no one listens because like the wild maniacs they are, the sounds they make have no substance, no meaning, and never a semblance of integrity.  They behave as beasts, devoid of morals or conscience, dancing to a never-ending chorus of garbled nonsense, as they try their utmost to show onlookers, and each other, of their confidence for it is the onlookers, those who the madmen have pretentiously convinced are their allies, who must now be convinced it is their duty to enter the den and face the horror that those who dance and scream outside are afraid to confront.  Some allies are even willing to try, such is their misplaced confidence of support from the insane ones. The lack of confidence of the madmen, never acknowledged, is nevertheless palpable to those of discernment. The allies are expected to be initiators of the insanity, and some of these have second thoughts, although they have pledged themselves to the service of the chanters who write the songs, and who have since become completely insane.

The allies of the mad ones finally begin to understand the reality that it is they who will be expected to sharpen their puny sticks and face the onslaught of the monstrosity inside the den.  But why?  They have all seen these types of dramas before.  These same madmen, once they have stirred the hornet’s nest, have repeatedly been known to cut and run, and leave their vassals to their own devices.  Although there are a few who plaintively mumble as the insanity of the chant reaches fever pitch, tragically they cannot muster the collective will to refuse to be part of the madness.  Indeed, they all have very good reasons to refuse, their families will be in danger due to their cowardice, their nations may well be destroyed, yet they cannot bring themselves to entertain any notion of refusal to participate, such is their absolute dishonor and obeisance to the evil that commands them.

The great bear in the den is no longer in hibernation.  He has made his demands quite clear.  The idiots chanting outside his lair are too close for his comfort, but they continue to encroach, in the erroneous and arrogant assumption that the bear will not strike, or will only strike those who enter his lair, and that he will defer peacefully to those who wrest the unfortunate vassals in to aggrieve him.  Each of the instigators, cowards in their own right, try and convince each other that the bear will retreat further into his lair and avoid conflict with those who cause his discomfit, at least with those who promote the madness from afar. They pretend to ignore the utter plain truth that the hackles of the bear are now on display for all to see, he stands at the entrance, great menacing teeth bared and with blood in his eyes, yet still willing to allow the crazies to retreat were they to come to their senses, but all of sound mind who witness the impending tragedy realize that the utter madness of the instigators has overtaken their sensibilities, and they will not back off.

Some of the addle-pated vassals try to keep up the pretense of subservience, for until the bear unleashes his fury, there are many who call themselves leaders, who stand to personally benefit for their perceived loyalty.  For these ones, their love of pecuniary largesse dictates their unquestioning obedience.  They have allowed the mad ones to convince them of their security, and have no notion of the wrath of the great bear, nor of how quickly and utterly his ferocity can destroy them; may God have mercy on all when the bear comes out of his den.

They have been warned.