Exordium

It was a long time ago when I first crash landed on this strange planet. Since then I have learned much and adapted well. For I come from a race of creatures that were made to survive. We were born with only one mission in life, and we come into the world equipped with all the tools necessary to complete this mission. However, it takes many years to master the use of these tools. And master them we must for our own preservation as well as the one mission that we must fulfill.

I come from a place called Athenaeum. It's a world full of collectors, travelers, and storytellers. It a strange ethereal, cloudy, and dusty world full of strange mirages of floating lights. And the only sound is silence from the empty space. Yet, We are born with music in our hearts so that the silence does not drive us mad. My song is a soft and ambient tune to suit the strange wispy world I was born into.

I loved it when it rained because I could feel the rumble of the clouds under my feet. I love it still on this strange planet, because it makes me feel a little closer to where I began.

The places that we land on are called Athenaeum-Luna or Athenaeum's moon. The creatures here, however, refer to their home as Terrace. It is now my home as well. During my stay on Terrace I have kept careful records of events, myths, and histories. Some tales are obvious exaggerations of the truth, but I felt them worth keeping. And sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

The following is a compilation of tales I have gathered in my travels around this strange world. There is still much of Terrace that I have not explored and so this may be the first in a series of compilations. My own story is scattered within, but it's a story of finding and telling other stories. And so I hope you enjoy these tales as much as I have enjoyed collecting them.

- Alshain Caelum