One bright day in the month of Aeguary, in the year 360 AF, the Druidess
Evadne D'Ischai-Ebonheart was wandering far from civilization in the
northmost reaches of Sapience, alone. Southwest of the Tundra, she
noticed a forest near the ocean that she had never seen before. But the
world was vast and wide, and certainly there were many places the young
Druidess had never seen before, she thought. She explored the forest,
then returned home, and it was a while until she realized that she had
been the very first mortal to discover the forest of Rheodad in modern
times. But the true mysteries of Rheodad still awaited discovery...

The delighted shouts Nate and Nolan, the twin brothers who manned the
ferries between Polyargos and the Aalen, welcomed their younger sister
Natalie into the family trade. Those who heard and came to meet her,
found Nolan alone at the Aalen beach and wondered at her whereabouts.
The dragon Garth Jaydde-Stormcrow was the first to ask Nolan about any
new departures, and grinning, Nolan invited him into his ferry and off
they rowed. And thus, Garth became the first mortal to step foot onto
the island of Shala-Khulia in modern times, welcomed by the smiling
Natalie on the shores of the large, rainforest-covered island.

As news of the discoveries reached the mainland, intrepid adventurers
soon swarmed both of the areas. Slowly, it became apparent to the
explorers that both the jungle of Shala-Khulia and the forest of Rheodad
were under a curse... dire wolves loped through Rheodad, accompanied by
ghostly pleas for help on the wind... demonic jaguars prowled through
the Shala-Khulia forest, and a malignant purple flame burned within the
city of Shala-Khulia... but it was not until hidden catacombs were
discovered in Rheodad, that the full story was told.

Imprisoned for centuries within the catacombs was the ghost of Amphites,
an ancient and powerful Necromancer who had once been a Polemarch of
Ashtan. He told the tale of how he came to be in his prison, and the
power that he held over the cursed forests of Rheodad and Shala-Khulia,
in the form of a sacred staff of Shala-Khulia he had broken years
before. He promised to give up this power to the one who would help him
find what his soul most desired... the spirit of his long-dead wife,
Carina, who died in Shala-Khulia so long ago.

Day after day, adventurers journeyed across the land to fulfill this
wish of the dead Necromancer, seeking to break the ancient curse. Asara
Eslofe, Bambi Rousseau, Kitt Xanatov-Jinx, and Jenara Nakanishi-Tatiana
were some of the key figures who toiled upon this quest set upon them.
Finally, it was Kitt, with the help of Amara, Frith, Kered Ta'sa, Shiro
Kindfire, Dragonseyes Lena, Zieg Le'Murzen, Oburi Kimura among others,
who succeeded in fulfilling the wish of Amphites, then restoring the
broken staff of Shala-Khulia, and breaking the curse over Rheodad and
Shala-Khulia.

The forests flourish once more, their verdant song of life renewed...
yet what was once broken, may never be entirely whole. Those who seek
out Amphites in Rheodad, and the Sacred Flame in Shala-Khulia, beware...
there is a great power in these lands, and the choice on how to wield
it, is yours to bear.

Penned by my hand on the 22nd of Scarlatan, in the year 360 AF.