History of Myrnia

From Ambrose of Zandria

To the Most Noble Peter of Soros, third of that name,

It is customary for such as seek a Prince’s favor to present themselves before him with those things of theirs which they themselves most value, or in which they perceive him chiefly to delight. Accordingly, we often see horses, armor, cloth of gold, precious stones, and the like costly gifts, offered to Princes as worth of their greatness. Desiring in like manner to approach your Highness with some token of my devotion on this, the twelfth anniversary of your birth, I have found among my possessions none that I so much prize and esteem as a knowledge of the history of the peoples and lands of this world in which we live.

It is a hope your father and I share, as I know from several intimate and impassioned conversations, that this information may allow you to gain some advantage of education which your father, great as he may be, lacked when he came to the throne. When the advantage of a well-stocked, trained, and orderly mind is matched with your royal blood and the riches and strength your father and grandfather worked into this city of Soros, the limits of your rise might be impossibly high.

Indeed, during an over-indulgence of wine your father and I dreamed of the day the Crystal Tower would rise again above Myrnia as you claim the title of Emperor for your line. The idle dreams of old men hold less interest for you than riding or fencing, I know, just I preferred my books and stacks to my father’s dreams of a new era of human prosperity.

But Peter, those dreams shape us, as ephemeral and powerless as they may seem in youth. It is the dreams our forbearers weave around us that become the clothes we wear as men. If my conversations with him are any guide, your father is ensuring you will be well-dressed.

Enough of this. On to what I hope will be of more interest: the tragedies and comedies that laid the foundation of the world we know today.

Table of Contents

 * Halflings


 * Dwarves


 * Elves


 * Orcs


 * Gnomes


 * Humans