"The Chronicles of Lost Ortega"

"I wrote these volumes, not to feed the egos of my companions or myself. The existence of a lost empire is not unbelievable, but it is the revelation of their artistry with arcane spells which challenges modern sensibilities. The idea the world which came before us was more primitive, and anything done now was impossible then, should be challenged! All things are possible with the proper motivation and preparation."

— Postscript, Sage Thelun Arkady

In recent years a curious set of books has begun to see circulation, written by Myrisian scribes and circulated amidst scholars of history and arcane magic. Written by an elven Sage, there are ten volumes to the set which has been called "The Chronicle of Lost Ortega", despite this title never being used amidst the volumes. Eight of the volumes are titled by what is the name of a place, while the remaining two bear the titles "Prelude" and "Postscript". This, understandably, has made it difficult for those not in the know to discuss the first and last volumes.

Currently, it is impossible to acquire for collections outside of Myrisia due to copies quickly being acquired by arcanists and scholars. The majority of scholars inside the Rhyliss Empire spend volumes of their own disputing the contents of the Chronicle, insisting there could be no possible "lost empire" without leaving behind more traces. Arcanists are trying to discern exactly how magical works described in the book are possible, let alone possible, and are largely silent on whether or not the Chronicle is a work of fiction.
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Contents

According to "Prelude", these volumes are a true account detailing an ancient empire which once existed on western Erisdaire. Sage Arkady spends much of the book explaining his companions stumbled into some the eight lost cities of the Ortegan Empire while tracking down other ones in order to deactivate latent magic left active. Part of the controversy over these books are the location of these cities being described as underneath already-existing cities. While the author takes great pains to note there is a specialized warding spell placed over the ruins (even providing arcane formulae at one point), most detractors simply call it nonsense. Those with skill in the arcane often are more guarded, simply confining themselves to suggesting the formulae appear to be a sound theory but cannot be applied.

After "Prelude" there come eight volumes discussing individual ruins. Each of the eight main volumes appear to be written in the form of a journal, often referred to as a travelogue, detailing the lost cities and what could be gleaned from the remains. Sometimes there are more fantastic tales of creatures dwelling there and hazards to those seeking to visit and explore themselves. The "Prelude" volume openly admonishes those "who would play at being an adventurer" and has entire pages devote to explaining there are dangers which can easily spell doom for the unprepared. "Postscript" has ten pages where the author laments the whole of the work might inspire a new generation of explorers and adventurers to try anyway, and attempts to refute responsibility for the inevitable deaths.

The whole of "Postscript" seems to be devoted to explaining the end result of releasing latent magic held within the lost cities. Places where the lost cities had existing settlements constructed atop them were said to be better off in the long run, as soon as adventurers would be able to deal with denizens released from their slumber. Sage Arkady comments on how his companions have been instructed not to act yet, and allow local authorities to handle the situations as they arise.

Controversy

In the three years since this book has seen circulation, a number of controversies have sprung up regarding Sage Arkady and his companions. Foremost, there are Imperial bureaucrats struggling to find some breach of law to arrest the adventurers with. The closest which has been plausible ("disturbance of the peace", thirteen counts) was soon buried by their status as Imperial Surveyors, rendering this all as part of their official duties. The current sovereign of Firos has sought no such action, rather they say the intervention of adventurers are the only reason their nation survived serious upheaval.

A second controversy which had farther-reaching effects lies in how Sage Arkady has vanished from public life in the last year, and his companions have likewise seemed to vanish from Erisdaire. This means there is no chance to truly debate contents of the volumes with the author, or even seek clarification or correction when information needs to be changed. A number of detractors have claimed the disappearance was calculated, a response to attempts to place charges against the adventuring group. The seneschal of Pendelholm remains silent on their whereabouts, though he continues assuring those who ask - the masters remain alive, but they merely are not present at this time.

Finally, there has been a much greater controversy which escaped the confines of scholarly review. The revelation of a prior empire, built by humanity and dependent on arcane magic, became a subject of derision and pride depending on the individual. Claims of how impossible it is for humans to craft such arcane wonders, unaided, have been some of the loudest complaints. A few unwavering followers of the Rhyliss Empire also claim there were no great empires before their own, despite amused responses from elves and dwarves on the matter of their own cultures clearly having predated humanity's "greatest and eternal" empire. Alarmist Myrisian scholars are instead concerned of an implication there was such magic around, and present the ideas of Imperial battlemages wielding such power against foes of the Empire.

"Perhaps it is best Thelun isn't around to answer questions, because I have no doubt he would want to make all these tiresome and troublesome idiots disappear."

— Sage Carolon, Master of the Blue Rose

Medium

Vellum / Skin

Signatories (Characters)

• Sage Thelun Arkady