A manticore invasion of unprecedented ferocity beset the atavian village
of Genji in the Southern Vashnars earlier this month. The beasts' attack
set off a series of unexpected events that culminated in the discovery
of the archway to Arcadia, the legendary homeland of the atavian race.

The people of Sapience were first alerted to the Genji villagers' plight
by the shouting of Tinja, one of the villagers who had been sent to call
for help. Winging his way to a ram's horn in the Southern Vashnars,
Tinja shouted out a plea for people to come to Genji's aide. Vast
numbers responded to his call, gathering below the village where Tinja
explained their plight. Surviving villagers had barricaded themselves in
the village hall, and huge, ferocious manticores, stronger than they had
ever seen, roamed the village attacking on sight.

The adventurers moved in quickly, suffering numerous casualties, but
winning out against the manticores eventually. The villagers tearfully
explained that Gehan, the esteemed Founder of Genji, had fought
valiantly against the manticores but had been dragged off by the queen
manticore to their caves. At the villagers' entreaties, the adventurers
set off to the manticore caves to seek out Gehan, if he was still alive.

They discovered hidden caverns beyond the queen manticore's nest and
descended into them, battling hordes of manticores along the way. These
previously unknown caverns seemed to be a new breeding ground, with
manticore hatchlings fed abundantly on fresh blood to strengthen them.
Finally, they located Gehan, who had managed to escape into a small
niche where the manticores could not reach him.

Near death, consciousness swiftly fading, Gehan thanked the villagers
who had come to his rescue, then told them that he would not be
accompanying them back to the village, making a cryptic remark about
being sorry. He told them that he felt his soul escaping his body and
did not have the strength to return, and he hoped that the village would
remember him as they saw him last, fighting to save them. Saying that a
journal in his possession would explain all, and with a final smile, he
breathed his last breath.

Dresden La'Seir quickly did as he had bid them, searching out the
journal from his body. She gave it to the Arcanist dragon Garth
Jaydde-Stormcrow, who read the contents of the journal out loud to the
group. Within Gehan's journal was an account of Gehan and his
companions' long-ago exodus from Arcadia. Most shockingly, it contained
a confession of how Gehan, in his fury at Arcadia for their rejection
and ostracism of his "cult" of Agatheis worshippers, had secretly
destroyed the enchanted keystone of the archway to Arcadia from this
continent. The keystone had connected the archway to this continent, a
portal through the magical barrier placed around Arcadia by Vastar long
ago to protect His children.

The journal related how Gehan had then lied about his deed, telling his
companions that the Arcadians must have destroyed it to keep them from
returning, a deed that had wracked him with guilt for the rest of his
life. He had given the four marble fragments of the keystone to four
elementals, bidding them scatter the pieces far and wide so that they
may never be rejoined. It also told how Gehan had buried the centerpiece
of the keystone, a crystal sphere attuned to the rest of the keystone
fragments, at the site of the archway: the highest peak of the Southern
Vashnars.

Excitement rising high as they realized they held a clue to the way to
Arcadia in their hands, the group sped to Mount Nicator, which fit the
description given. The dragon Asara Eslofe, who had been born an
atavian, found the crystal buried there just as the journal had
indicated. The blue crystal sphere held within its depths a small,
frozen spear of lightning, which Delphinus, then Asara, quickly
recognized as resembling the Storm symbol at the Inner Chamber of the
Sky Temple.

They journeyed to the Sky Temple, temple of Vastar, where the Storm
symbol lay at the bottom of a sky-blue pool. Vortok and Delphinus worked
out that the crystal sphere should be immersed within the pool, and when
this was done, visions flashed rapidly across the surface of the pool,
imagery connected to the location of each of the keystone fragments.
Each vision corresponded with a different element, water, fire, air, and
earth, as each of the elementals Gehan had given the keystone fragments
to had hidden them according to their nature.

After puzzling over the imagery for some time, and debating amongst
themselves upon their meanings, the group began to explore to seek out
the keystone fragments. After a fruitless search in the Mannaseh Swamp,
the group met their first success in Riparium, where Garth discovered a
marble fragment hidden inside a coral statue of Nissandar. Next, the
dragons Garth and Asara headed off to Polyargos in response to another
vision, and Asara found yet another fragment hidden inside within the
volcanic mountain.

Elsewhere, adventurers mulled over the hiding places of the fragment
given to the earth and the air elementals. After arduous searching, Sir
Zenui Ruthras discovered the earth elemental's piece cleverly concealed
within Moghedu. The final piece was found in Ulangi by the Sentinel
Orophin Windsong. At long last, all the fragments of the keystone were
found, and mended together with the crystal sphere at the Inner Chamber
in the Sky Temple within the pool there. Then, as the journal bid, the
keystone was taken by Asara back to Mount Nicator, where huge numbers
had gathered in anticipation. Asara spoke simply the word: "Arcadia" ---
and the keystone rose from the ground, hovering in the air. Translucent
arches extended downwards from the sides of the keystone, then a moment
after, solidified, forming a shimmering marble archway.

And thus was the portal to Arcadia renewed upon Mount Nicator by two
quick-witted dragons and a company of intrepid adventurers. They soon
discovered that the portal led first to a floating isle called
Erymanthus, and glittering high upon the peak of Mount Erymanthus like a
multifaceted diamond, the white marble city of Arcadia, long-lost
homeland of the atavian race.

Let it be recorded here that the first Sapient to set foot upon the Isle
of Erymanthus in the Modern Age was the Warlock named Sarde Moonflair,
with Garth and Asara swift on her heels. The first to find the way into
the city proper of Arcadia was Nijias Oloren the Occultist, followed a
mere step behind by the Sylvan named Elethrin and Erdac, a Maldaathi
sentry. The work of this scribe is done.

Penned by my hand on the 17th of Phaestian, in the year 370 AF.