(The title to this is tentative, and could possibly change at any given time. This is related, in part, to my Shattered Reality series, though they are two different lines of the story of one world. In an effort to create a fuller and more developed world, the idea to create the Chronicles was born. Again, no proofreading was done, so bear with the grammar erros, please..)

Thesla is a world of Magic in some of its purest forms. The history of this world is old and all but forgotten to those of the New Generation. The Elders of Thesla do what they can to keep the truth of the legends and myths surrounding the history of this world a guarded secret, but it is a known fact that secrets are so often not meant to be kept, especially not by so many. As the wars that ravage Thesla continue to rage on, it has become necessary to try and piece together the lost history of our world, even if just to keep the past from becoming completely forgotten. This is where I come in.

My name is Elfrain, and I am a student at Dalrach University, one of the last guarded and protected schools upon Thesla. Our Master Teacher is the great Omrin of the race Tsi’lyn, protector of knowledge and Magic. He came to me, knowing of my love for the written word and of my never-ending studies of the few scrolls containing any history lore that remain, and asked me to become a chronicler of the past of Thesla. I accepted readily, and I have since spent many months exploring the wealth of scrolls Master Omrin brought to me from a hidden trove within the depths of Darlach, searching for the truth of our history. And so now I begin the tale of a world of Magic, of a world forever harried by war, of a world where Good fights a never-ending battle with Evil, of a world where far too often, the Dark seems to win.

~ ^ ~ ^ ~

Thesla has always been a world of Magic. It seeps from the earth itself; it blows upon the wind and air, like a cloud, and it fills the waters that run over this world. As far back as the records go, there has always been a master race of adept mages, and it is they who are believed to be the ancestors of the ancient and mystical race of the Tsi’lyn of our time.

As with all things, some of the adepts, collectively referred to as the Ancestors in history scrolls, walked the paths of Light, some the path of Dark, and invariably, some walked the narrow and fine path of Shadow. These Ancestors shaped Thesla to their needs. The creatures and the land itself were all playthings to those great adepts, theirs to wield and mold as they saw fit. Some of their creations survived to our time, such as the Narlature, the seafolk, and the Shreklars of the Underearth and caves. However, many of the older breeds did not survive in the form in which they were created. They crossbred and mutated until their descendents became what they are today. Such is the case with the Dracars, a race of dragon-like creatures. No species upon Thesla was ever truly safe from the magic of the Ancestors.

Perhaps one of the greatest and most hushed and hidden aspects of Thesla’s history involve the creation of the Gates by the Ancestors. According to ancient legend, the Ancestors created a total of 23 Gates, of which only 9 remain standing today. These gates were designed as portals, pathways to other worlds and times. It is said that because of these portals, our world now contains the mixed races that it does. Legend states that when the Ancestors had exhausted the creatures that were available to them in Thesla, a race was begun to travel to other worlds to find new creatures, races and plants…anything to bring back and see how they would adapt to their world. Races of people could travel by these gates, or even just one person. All that was needed was a key.

Keys could be anything, from a Word to an actual object, to a ritual spell. Gates could be activated from either side, but once an archway fell into ruin or disrepair, it becomes useless. Since the knowledge of this kind of magic is lost to any of the New Generation, all Gates have been considered to be useless, and all knowledge of past forays made by the adepts of old have been hidden and kept secret. Talk of inter-world and cross-dimensional travel has been strictly forbidden by the Elders and referred to as myth. It wasn’t until recently that the Council and Elders have been forced to acknowledge the Gates, but that is another story.

Due to the Elders’ decree and the Council’s enforcement of it, the New Generation has been “protected” from becoming corrupt with the knowledge of our past. Much of what has happened over the thousands of years since the time of the Ancestors has been kept secret, but the time for secrets has passed. The war that tosses our dear Thesla into turmoil grows worse with every passing day. There have been four Great Wars in our history, and it would seem that we are on the verge of a fifth apocalyptic war. Our world has been altered greatly after every war. Terrain has changed, entire races have been wiped out, knowledge has been lost and fourteen Gates have been destroyed. Only time will tell the results of this current war.

The fourth Great War ended 137 years ago, and a tentative peace settled over Thesla. The sentient races of our world that remained were divided up into the nine Guardian races and the seven Lesser races. The Elders became the ruling body of government, made up of representatives from every race. They are the advisors and law-makers of Thesla, while the Council keeps these laws and enforces them. Such has it been for over 130 years, until now. Three of the Guardian races, and four of the Lesser have broken away, leading to the war Thesla is now beset with. Our world once more faces great struggle, and we are all effected in some way.

The gray of dawn claims my window, it would seem that the night has passed all too quickly. I shall continue my chronicling of Thesla at a later date, for there is much more to be written. With the daybreak comes a new smell, an unusual one I cannot place that rides the morning breeze. Something is coming; I know not when I shall next continue.

~ Elfrain, Chronicler of Thesla