 |  |  |  |  |  |
Historical Forward for One Good Woman
Often history takes an unexpected turn. A discovery is made that is so incredible it completely changes the path
of man’s developing society. In the most dramatic twists, that important discovery is made completely by accident.
The expanding society of Solonia grew to encompass the Realm and Parlania. Some men and women of
adventure rejoiced in the fragile peace spreading across the lands though some small part of them mourned the
end of their warrior life.
As Solonia and her allies settled into peaceful coexistence, a tragic accident interrupted their steady march
toward modernization. But what seemed a horrible loss turned out to be the hand of fate insuring a discovery that
might otherwise have gone unnoticed for many lifetimes. Two people would stumble upon a hidden world that
would shake everything their people believed about the hierarchy of living beings in the grand scheme of
existence.
Warriors as often as other people see the world in clear divisions of black and white, good and evil. Perhaps one
of the most difficult lessons for battle veterans to learn is the parts of the world that are shades of gray.
Completely by accident, two bloodied warriors encounter a situation that requires they rethink everything they’ve
believed and raise questions at to the validity of their mission. Sometimes bravery isn’t swinging a sword but is
instead holding back the killing blow. Courage takes all forms and some of those manifest themselves not in
physical action but in the taking of an emotional risk. Putting one’s life on the line is often easier than risking one’
s heart.
Peace often teeters on the strength of one side’s weapons, but threat alone can not create a lasting peace. The
reaching out of a hand, the offering of trust and most of all, forgiveness of past wrongs, these things alone will
give birth to everlasting tranquility.
The most difficult of those components to reach is forgiveness. Some transgressions are so grievous, that the
victim is damaged in body and soul. Only those of deep courage will find the reservoir of faith needed for
forgiveness. Men of spiritual learning call that grace.
One damaged, incredibly brave woman and one driven, heroic man found the grace in their own souls and
changed their world forever.
Maria Celebria
Official Historian for the University of Parlania
1528 P.A. (post asteroid)
HISTORICAL FOREWORD for THE GREATER GOOD
The asteroid measured quite large by any standard. For the tiny green planet, called Earth by those ancients, the huge frozen rock
hurtling toward them meant death. Fortunately, the people of this world knew something of technology. They set out to cheat fate
and escape the extinction which so much of the planet’s life had suffered the last time such an event occurred. The cataclysm
zooming toward them united them for the first time ever into one people, and they won. They weren’t entirely decimated. The
asteroid didn’t crash into their sphere of rock, but rather was turned enough, slowed enough, so that the instrument of death was
instead killed itself. Caught in the gravity trap of the very planet it would have destroyed, the space traveler was forever imprisoned
in orbit around the Earth. No one celebrated in joyous triumph on the planet surface. The addition of the new moon caused
natural disaster after disaster. A desperate struggle to survive began. The asteroid, large enough to have its own gravitational
pull, tilted its captor enough to change the Earth’s entire climatic scheme. Ice caps melted and tropics froze. Floods inundated
cities and farmlands alike. Earthquakes knocked down mountains and raised up new ones. The dual moons raised huge storms
and lifted waves on oceans gone mad. Within months of the bitter victory over the asteroid over ninety percent of animal life
perished as man relearned a lesson he constantly needs to be retaught. Nature was and is the most powerful of forces despite
man’s arrogant assumption of dominance over all things. Continents were cut off from each other. All technology was lost or
destroyed. The survivors sought only to live, and so they did. Slowly, over centuries, small settlements established societies. Each
community, unaware of the others, worked to recover civilization from the depths they’d fallen backward in history.
Inevitably, dissatisfaction and curiosity, ever the bane and the hope of mankind, motivated some to explore. After twelve centuries of
isolation the seas were once again crossed. The explorers discovered strange societies with odd customs but ultimately with
the same goal. Survive and grow. To do so, sometimes sacrifices had to be made. A personal sacrifice for the greater good of the
world has always been an honorable way to spend one’s life. One such example, recorded here, led to the rapid expansion of the
western continent.
Maria Celebria
Official historian for the University of Parlania
1527P.A.(post asteroid)
HISTORICAL FORWARD for THE LESSER EVIL
After the great cataclysm, many of the isolated societies tried to expand their knowledge of their physical world. Some desired to
explore what lay over the next hill and beyond the raging seas. Others sought to retrieve the technology from ages past. The most
progress was achieved when the two groups worked together.
The warrior classes rose to the top ranks of the colonies as is true in most young societies. Out of these elite slices of humanity
came the scholars and scientists who would take civilization forward in great leaps.
The way was not smooth and encompassed many generations. With the advances that benefitted the health and quality of life also
came the habits that plagued every habitat where more than one human lived together. Avarice, weakness of spirit and dissolution
of honor and morals became more commonplace when man no longer needed to spend all his energies for survival. The easier
their lives became, the more the dark side of human nature could assert itself.
As the tiny pockets of survivors grew and expanded, they found the greatest enemy to their future was not from without, but rather
from within themselves. The warriors who once protected the citizens from the dangers of the wild now turned to policing those
who destroy their colonies with treachery and deceit.
Sometimes in those difficult times, men and women were forced to chose between the lesser of two evils. If good sense and luck
aided in the choice, some good might arise from the action.
Maria Celebria
Official historian for the University of Parlania
1527 P.A.
HISTORICAL FOREWORD for A RUTHLESS GOOD
Exploration of the greater world was to be a dangerous venture as man’s inherent curiosity drove him ever farther from the safe
walls of home and hearth. Vague memories passed down from generation to generation of great cities, universities of learning
and hubs of commerce and prosperity tugged at the base desire of mankind to improve themselves. Explorers seeking to better
the world for the next generation trekked bravely into the unknown.
Not everything discovered in the wide world is a benefit to the seekers who find it. Sometimes the intrepid adventurers would
stumble upon a find so perverted, so grotesque, no words written here can describe the horrors.
Witnesses to one such discovery often spoke of the nightmares they carried with them for the entirety of the lives. Men and women
were changed forever by their encounter with a true, ruthless evil.
Man’s cruelty to one another is often hidden within the guise of necessity. How often is an evil act rationalized as being for the
betterment of all? How often does one segment of society suffer atrocious ill treatment so another segment can flourish and
forward their own agenda?
Few societies are populated only by their victims and their venal abusers. In all such environments are those who refuse to submit
to perverted masters or to join them in their malevolent roles. In even the most vile of environment that man creates, there will
dwell some good men. One good man can make a difference.
A good man alone will fight for justice and freedom. He will also die for the same. Dying in the defense of free will and
righteousness is a hero’s death. But fighting for the same and living, winning those things, creates legends.
Mass changes in the workings of a society take more one good man. Civilization at its finest is built by the compassion and
strength of its women. The strong arms of men may wield a lethal sword, but the boundless spirit of a courageous woman is the
rock that steadies the world.
At times one woman embodies the essence of a people. A woman with joy in her heart, optimism in her soul and adventure
ingrained in her character. It took such women to free the northern colonies and build them once more into thriving societies.
The turnabout of the northern peoples’ decline exacted a price on the hearts and lives of their saviors. Blood flowed and stained
the earth as well as hearts.
It might have been worse, but a good man learned a terrible lesson. In order to defeat true evil, one must be as cold-hearted and
as unrelenting as the enemy. Sometimes good must be as ruthless as evil.
Maria Celebria
Official Historian for the University of Parlania
1528 P.A.
Often history takes an unexpected turn. A discovery is made that is so incredible it completely changes the path
of man’s developing society. In the most dramatic twists, that important discovery is made completely by accident.
The expanding society of Solonia grew to encompass the Realm and Parlania. Some men and women of
adventure rejoiced in the fragile peace spreading across the lands though some small part of them mourned the
end of their warrior life.
As Solonia and her allies settled into peaceful coexistence, a tragic accident interrupted their steady march
toward modernization. But what seemed a horrible loss turned out to be the hand of fate insuring a discovery that
might otherwise have gone unnoticed for many lifetimes. Two people would stumble upon a hidden world that
would shake everything their people believed about the hierarchy of living beings in the grand scheme of
existence.
Warriors as often as other people see the world in clear divisions of black and white, good and evil. Perhaps one
of the most difficult lessons for battle veterans to learn is the parts of the world that are shades of gray.
Completely by accident, two bloodied warriors encounter a situation that requires they rethink everything they’ve
believed and raise questions at to the validity of their mission. Sometimes bravery isn’t swinging a sword but is
instead holding back the killing blow. Courage takes all forms and some of those manifest themselves not in
physical action but in the taking of an emotional risk. Putting one’s life on the line is often easier than risking one’
s heart.
Peace often teeters on the strength of one side’s weapons, but threat alone can not create a lasting peace. The
reaching out of a hand, the offering of trust and most of all, forgiveness of past wrongs, these things alone will
give birth to everlasting tranquility.
The most difficult of those components to reach is forgiveness. Some transgressions are so grievous, that the
victim is damaged in body and soul. Only those of deep courage will find the reservoir of faith needed for
forgiveness. Men of spiritual learning call that grace.
One damaged, incredibly brave woman and one driven, heroic man found the grace in their own souls and
changed their world forever.
Maria Celebria
Official Historian for the University of Parlania
1528 P.A. (post asteroid)
HISTORICAL FOREWORD for THE GREATER GOOD
The asteroid measured quite large by any standard. For the tiny green planet, called Earth by those ancients, the huge frozen rock
hurtling toward them meant death. Fortunately, the people of this world knew something of technology. They set out to cheat fate
and escape the extinction which so much of the planet’s life had suffered the last time such an event occurred. The cataclysm
zooming toward them united them for the first time ever into one people, and they won. They weren’t entirely decimated. The
asteroid didn’t crash into their sphere of rock, but rather was turned enough, slowed enough, so that the instrument of death was
instead killed itself. Caught in the gravity trap of the very planet it would have destroyed, the space traveler was forever imprisoned
in orbit around the Earth. No one celebrated in joyous triumph on the planet surface. The addition of the new moon caused
natural disaster after disaster. A desperate struggle to survive began. The asteroid, large enough to have its own gravitational
pull, tilted its captor enough to change the Earth’s entire climatic scheme. Ice caps melted and tropics froze. Floods inundated
cities and farmlands alike. Earthquakes knocked down mountains and raised up new ones. The dual moons raised huge storms
and lifted waves on oceans gone mad. Within months of the bitter victory over the asteroid over ninety percent of animal life
perished as man relearned a lesson he constantly needs to be retaught. Nature was and is the most powerful of forces despite
man’s arrogant assumption of dominance over all things. Continents were cut off from each other. All technology was lost or
destroyed. The survivors sought only to live, and so they did. Slowly, over centuries, small settlements established societies. Each
community, unaware of the others, worked to recover civilization from the depths they’d fallen backward in history.
Inevitably, dissatisfaction and curiosity, ever the bane and the hope of mankind, motivated some to explore. After twelve centuries of
isolation the seas were once again crossed. The explorers discovered strange societies with odd customs but ultimately with
the same goal. Survive and grow. To do so, sometimes sacrifices had to be made. A personal sacrifice for the greater good of the
world has always been an honorable way to spend one’s life. One such example, recorded here, led to the rapid expansion of the
western continent.
Maria Celebria
Official historian for the University of Parlania
1527P.A.(post asteroid)
HISTORICAL FORWARD for THE LESSER EVIL
After the great cataclysm, many of the isolated societies tried to expand their knowledge of their physical world. Some desired to
explore what lay over the next hill and beyond the raging seas. Others sought to retrieve the technology from ages past. The most
progress was achieved when the two groups worked together.
The warrior classes rose to the top ranks of the colonies as is true in most young societies. Out of these elite slices of humanity
came the scholars and scientists who would take civilization forward in great leaps.
The way was not smooth and encompassed many generations. With the advances that benefitted the health and quality of life also
came the habits that plagued every habitat where more than one human lived together. Avarice, weakness of spirit and dissolution
of honor and morals became more commonplace when man no longer needed to spend all his energies for survival. The easier
their lives became, the more the dark side of human nature could assert itself.
As the tiny pockets of survivors grew and expanded, they found the greatest enemy to their future was not from without, but rather
from within themselves. The warriors who once protected the citizens from the dangers of the wild now turned to policing those
who destroy their colonies with treachery and deceit.
Sometimes in those difficult times, men and women were forced to chose between the lesser of two evils. If good sense and luck
aided in the choice, some good might arise from the action.
Maria Celebria
Official historian for the University of Parlania
1527 P.A.
HISTORICAL FOREWORD for A RUTHLESS GOOD
Exploration of the greater world was to be a dangerous venture as man’s inherent curiosity drove him ever farther from the safe
walls of home and hearth. Vague memories passed down from generation to generation of great cities, universities of learning
and hubs of commerce and prosperity tugged at the base desire of mankind to improve themselves. Explorers seeking to better
the world for the next generation trekked bravely into the unknown.
Not everything discovered in the wide world is a benefit to the seekers who find it. Sometimes the intrepid adventurers would
stumble upon a find so perverted, so grotesque, no words written here can describe the horrors.
Witnesses to one such discovery often spoke of the nightmares they carried with them for the entirety of the lives. Men and women
were changed forever by their encounter with a true, ruthless evil.
Man’s cruelty to one another is often hidden within the guise of necessity. How often is an evil act rationalized as being for the
betterment of all? How often does one segment of society suffer atrocious ill treatment so another segment can flourish and
forward their own agenda?
Few societies are populated only by their victims and their venal abusers. In all such environments are those who refuse to submit
to perverted masters or to join them in their malevolent roles. In even the most vile of environment that man creates, there will
dwell some good men. One good man can make a difference.
A good man alone will fight for justice and freedom. He will also die for the same. Dying in the defense of free will and
righteousness is a hero’s death. But fighting for the same and living, winning those things, creates legends.
Mass changes in the workings of a society take more one good man. Civilization at its finest is built by the compassion and
strength of its women. The strong arms of men may wield a lethal sword, but the boundless spirit of a courageous woman is the
rock that steadies the world.
At times one woman embodies the essence of a people. A woman with joy in her heart, optimism in her soul and adventure
ingrained in her character. It took such women to free the northern colonies and build them once more into thriving societies.
The turnabout of the northern peoples’ decline exacted a price on the hearts and lives of their saviors. Blood flowed and stained
the earth as well as hearts.
It might have been worse, but a good man learned a terrible lesson. In order to defeat true evil, one must be as cold-hearted and
as unrelenting as the enemy. Sometimes good must be as ruthless as evil.
Maria Celebria
Official Historian for the University of Parlania
1528 P.A.
Historical Forewords
