And so our two paths that once diverged would now, once again, converge into a single thread. I had Advent and Eurydice write these segments, both to provide a fresh perspective, as well as to have them retell their meetings with us through their own eyes. Of course, at the time when all this happened, I was yet unaware of Eurydice’s existence, as well as the existence of the forest city of Kirtvel just beyond our borders.

The time written about within these pages was full of turmoil for me, personally. For one, it was my first extended separation from Ely since I had met her, and I do believe that nobody around me, not even Glint nor Advent, really knew how much that affected me. It was very possibly the darkest time of my life, when I was forced to play the part of the good wife, winning favour with the court while keeping that damned Julio off my back.

Those months – those years, rather, changed me. I would like to say that I became a better person for it, but I doubt that anyone can really become “better” in such an environment. Constant scheming and plotting, surrounded by enemies on all sides, made me a very different person by the end of it all – though I would like to believe that I managed to stay myself throughout it all.

Of course, with my husband’s collapse, things would take a turn for the dramatic. His illness could not have come at a worse time – by design, of course. Still, the illness and the events that followed it would forever change the face of this country.

I initially intended to end these chronicles here, given that anyone within the Empire will likely know what happens next. However, that would be a disservice to my friends that stood by me – I am committed to telling their story in full, and so I shall. That is the duty I am doubly obligated to perform, as both the curator and the creator of history.

The volume that follows will therefore tell the story of the end of the Mercynth Empire – told through the eyes of one who was central in making it happen.