If you are reading this, you must be a true seeker of Fortune — one daring enough to brave not only the natural dangers of Fortunata, but the wild chaos of the Scar itself. It is for bold folk like you that I, Vellir, have compiled this tome.
Alas, being displaced in time has wrought havoc on my memory. Though I vaguely remember my life in the Nameless Kingdom, the magical cataclysm which obliterated that land also erased all clarity of detail about it from my mind. Even the name of this realm . . . my home . . . is as unknowable to me as it is to everyone else.
I am sure the Moon Goddess had a reason for wrenching me from my true era and dropping me here, at this moment in time — but she has not shared those reasons with me. I can only conclude that she is trusting me to discover my way on my own: to travel throughout Fortunata, and meet its people, and learn how it has changed since the Scar erupted . . . since the world I knew vanished in a tide of magical chaos.
Perhaps she intended me to have keen insight into how you must feel, as a new adventurer stepping into this world for the first time. My distant memory may be a muddle, but I well remember those first impressions: the dust of the road, instantly coating my skin . . . the scent of spice in the warm air . . . the shouts of caravan leaders as they approached Iron Gate . . . and, pulsing through it all, a tangible sense of nearby magic — magic so powerful, and so powerfully dynamic, that it was all I could do to keep from running headlong into the Scar to seek its source.
So far, I have managed to resist the temptation. It helps to keep moving: to travel, and lend aid where ‘tis needed, and learn as much as I can about the Scar — without falling into its hypnotic grip, as so many mages have before me. I have also found great solace in the fellowship of adventurers like you. Perhaps we were meant to help each other; I know my skills and memories, however vague, can help you in your quests for glory and wealth . . . I can only hope that the knowledge gained in those quests will also help me.
Hence, these pages: all the insight I have gleaned from wandering the length and breadth of this land, distilled into a concise guidebook. ’Tis by no means comprehensive — not even the lost Shattered Library could hold all there is to know about the Scar, and Fortunata, and the Four Powers looming on every side. Your adventures will, no doubt, take you far beyond my reckoning; and then you can tell me all about it over a pint at the Merry Mausoleum. I look forward to admiring the treasures you “rescue”, and hearing the tales of your valor, and writing the next chapter of this story together . . .
. . . but you have to survive first.