Foreword
Letter from a Friend
Good tidings, old friend. It has been many moons since you were last in Britannia. The land has changed much in that time and even the major roads are no longer safe to travel unarmed. For this reason, I have provided for you several items such as a toolbelt and pocketwatch that will prove of great use for your journey ahead. In addition, this journal contains a comprehensive guide for a wanderer of the land, which you should peruse.
I have watched with joy and sorrow as you have grown over the years from your first step through the Siege Perilous to your enlightenment with the Virtues to your defeat of Guardian. Joy at your moments of wonder as you beheld strange new lands and triumphed over demons both without and within. And sorrow for I knew a day would come when you would face your greatest demon of all with victory far from certain.
Avatar, the lands of Sosaria have seen much pain and death at the hands of the Guardian and his servants. A plague has swept the world of many species and corrupted others into feral beasts. Many horses have fallen dead from sickness or been put down due to their ferocity. Even wolves have become more hostile in recent years. Under this climate, the Guardian’s warriors – the dragon-mounted Wyrmguard – came and ravaged Britannia with fire and destruction. The Guardian has brought forth giant columns that have fragmented the land and will bring about its end. Only through great sacrifice have the Wyrmguard been forced back, but the Guardian does not need to occupy the towns, for the columns spread his dark will into the very hearts of the citizenry.
Foreword
Dear reader, ’tis been many years since the day that I was visited by the Avatar while under the care of a Fellowship lash. Since mine rescue all those years ago, I have ventured on many a quest for knowledge and virtue and journeyed far in this fair realm. From my travels, I have learned much about the land and its people that a prospective young adventurer might find useful. Through this guide, I hope to impart to thee, adventurer or traveler, the knowledge that hath helped me in my journeys.
Through the first section of this text, I shall relate a comprehensive history of Britannia with a brief overview of its foundations – the Three Principles and the Eight Virtues. The following chapters will briefly describe all of the places thou mightst find in thy travels no matter how distant. Beyond will be a broad discussion on traveling both on and off the roads and beaten trails of our land, which ought to be of aide for the stalwart adventurer or the enterprising merchant. And while this tome is not intended as a magical reference, the last few chapters will provide helpful advice for any magical practitioner from the traveling bard to the young mage.
Finally, I finish with a few words about the Avatar. No soul hath I ever encountered was as calm or reassuring and indeed no soul was nobler or braver. Even to this day, there are many who mourn his passing and even a fair number who believe he is alive; lost on another world entirely. Therefore, I do dedicate this text to the greatest adventurer of them all. May he findeth peace in the lands of some distant shore or in the realms beyond our sight.
– Anton, Humble Scholar of the Lycaeum and Councilor of Moonglow
