Preface

These stories began as a journal writing for my children. I began these with the idea that founded an old AD&D game I ran called "The Eternal Labyrinth". In this game, there were two major races on the order of the Sartyn and Patryn from Weis and Hickman's Death Gate Cycle. These were the Shaoctin and the Quaton.

Originally, instead of being superraces, they were the conglomeration of Human, Elf and Gnome genetics. In these stories, the Gnomes have been replaced with Halflings. In the original game, the characters ran through more than two dozen "phases" that were interlinked with the city of Interphasia. There was no real escape from this life. Three characters became demi-gods:

• Mackley Torvalds, Half-Elf Cleric/Fighter/Mage
  
• Dale Torvalds, Mackley's half-brother, Human Monk
  
• Chack Telbar, Halfling Illusionist/Thief
  

These three journeyed the phases multiple times using the special portals. Eventually they became able to control the portals and determine where they went when they went through.

The stories in this blog revolve around a region known as "The True Realms". "The True Realms" are a group of small islands somewhere off the coast of the Forgotten Realms&mark;' port city of Waterdeep. The colonists (as the next story will tell you) happened upon it completely by accident.

These stories begin with the lives of the great heroes mentioned above but should quickly go to a new generation of heroes:

• Kanali Meadowleaf, Shaoctin cartographer
  
• Jarsali Meadowleaf, Kanali's twin sister, Shaoctin traveller
  
• Tabitha Telvar, Jarsali's best friend, Shaoctin scribe & historian
  
• Kory Glimmerling, Kanali's best friend, Shaoctin linguistic expert
  

What is a "traveller"? A traveller is one who spends his or her life exploring the universe through the Shao. It takes a great intellect, as well as great patience, since the apprenticeship process takes more than twenty (20) years. Therefore, most travellers have a prominently (greater than two-thirds) long-lived Elvish ancestry.