History is not merely the record of what has been. It is the blueprint for what may come, the echo of past voices that still have wisdom to impart. It is a mirror in which we see our failings laid bare, but also a lantern that illuminates the heights we might yet reach.
The final days of Encara are a tragedy, a loss beyond measure. And yet, to dwell only on the sorrow, on the horror of the Multitude's coming and the devastation it wrought, is to blind ourselves to the truth of what our ancestors accomplished. For when faced with certain doom, they did not surrender to despair. When all hope seemed lost, they forged a new path. The Opaline Saint and the Sainted Coalition could have fought for their own lives, clung to survival at any cost, but instead, they chose sacrifice. They chose to hold the gates open, knowing they would never pass through them. The gods, distant and unknowable for so long, might have abandoned us to our fate, but instead, they stood and fought, delaying the Hungering Multitude at the cost of their very existence.
The people of Encara were flawed. They waged war. They coveted. They made terrible mistakes that cost uncounted lives. But in the end, when the hour was darkest, when all was nearly lost, they proved that even in the face of annihilation, even when confronted with an enemy that could not be defeated, there is always a choice. And they chose mercy. They chose courage. They chose each other.
This is the inheritance they have given us.
We are all the children of Encara. We are all the descendants of refugees, of those who fled the death of a world and sought to make a home in this one. We live not because of conquest, nor cruelty, nor cunning, but because of sacrifice and faith—faith not only in the gods who stood for us, but in one another.
And so I ask: What will we build?
Will we remember the lessons of our ancestors, or will we fall to the same divisions that once sundered their nations? Will we let greed guide us to ruin, or will we take up the banner of compassion and cooperation? We call Thaedros the Godless Frontier, and perhaps it is true that the gods did not come with us. But the principles they stood for, the virtues they championed, did not die with them. If we are to survive here, in this strange land of wild magic and untamed dangers, it must be together.
I leave you now with a number of recommended texts for further study.
For those interested in the immediate years following the Diaspora, I suggest A New Dawn: The First Years on Thaedros by Chancellor Arvelis Ghan, which provides an invaluable account of the first settlements and the foundation of modern New Yldan. Similarly, Survival and Sacrifice: The Shining Legion's Last Stand by Paladin-Adjudicator Velen Dross captures the harrowing final defense of Encara and recalls many of those who remained behind.
For a broader perspective on Encara's further history before its fall, I highly recommend Legends of the Felaari: A Living Memory, a translation of Felaari historical recollections compiled by Loremaster Esandiel Valthorin, one of the few written collections of Felaari inherited memory committed to parchment. Additionally, The Age of Rebirth by Lady Karhild Vostrann of Ainor provides a detailed exploration of the years that followed the Summoning War and the remarkable strides toward unity and peace made during that time.
Lastly, for those seeking to understand the mysteries of the worldgates and the legacy of those who first unlocked their secrets, the recovered fragments of Ciaranol Kalvorsson's Collected Theorems on Spatial Convergence remain a source of both knowledge and caution. Though incomplete, they offer the only surviving insights into the power that both saved us and doomed our world. They are currently in the care of the College of Arcane Sciences.
See my further recommendations in the following pages.
May we be wise enough to learn from our past.
May we be strong enough to forge our future.
-Magister Gerrod Kalvordan
Vice Dean of Historical Preservation
New Yldanian University
Twenty-Third of Simald, in the year One-hundred and Twenty-Six, post diaspora
The Shattered Meridian: The Summoning War and Its Consequences in the East – By Grand Archivist Ysolde van Rethmar of the Marthian College of Imperial Studies
A comprehensive account of the war's effects on the eastern continent, particularly how the initial incursions of interplanar creatures devastated the eastern trade empires. It presents a markedly different interpretation of the Summoning War, portraying it as an avoidable catastrophe enabled by reckless arcane ambition.
We Who Were Left Behind: The Forgotten Voices of Encara's End – A Compilation by the Monks of the Last Library of Fehdrun
A collection of surviving personal letters, journal fragments, and testimonies from those who did not or could not flee through the worldgates. The volume is fragmented, its accounts often unfinished, some eerily cutting off mid-sentence—a haunting reminder of how quickly the world was lost.
Honor in Ash: The Kaldjari Remnant and the Struggle for Survival – By General Vesk Tharn, War Historian of the Lengarth Concord
A controversial volume among modern historians, this text presents the war from the Kaldjari perspective, arguing that the Imperium's aggression was a last desperate bid for survival, rather than an act of conquest. It includes an extensive section on the actions taken by the Imperial Remnant in the final years of Encara, though the details of the Remnant's last stand remain largely speculative.
The Accord Unwritten: Attempts at Peace Before the End – By Magistrate Othrak Durn of the Imperial Records Office
Drawn from Kaldjari diplomatic archives recovered in the early days of the diaspora, this book details failed peace negotiations between the Imperium and the Midland Alliance. It suggests that an agreement may have been possible—had the Summoning War not escalated beyond anyone's control.
When the Lantern Was Lit: The Last Works of the Gods – By High Archivist Delna Varsin, Order of the Shining Path
A theological examination of the gods' direct intervention in the final days of Encara, written by one of the surviving clerics who bore witness to Broghna's manifestation at the worldgate. This work explores not only what the gods did, but also what they did not do—and asks the ever-haunting question: Did they know they would not survive?
Bound by Oath and Sacrifice: The Shining Legion's Final Stand – By Knight-Chronicler Enver Thalbrecht, Order of the Last Dawn
One of the few surviving records of the Shining Legion's last battle against the Multitude, compiled from the stories of its few surviving members. It attempts to reconstruct their heroic last stand, though much of its content is pieced together from fragmented recollections, as none who were truly at the heart of the battle lived to tell the tale.
The Path She Chose: A Study of Felidara Thanorax and the Sainted Coalition – By Magister Kandri Stolvarin, Former Apprentice to the Opaline Saint
A deeply personal account from Felidara's closest student, detailing her mentor's final days and the spellcraft that enabled the diaspora. Kandri's writing is both reverent and mournful, particularly in her recollections of Felidara's last words. Of all the texts on this subject, it is the most intimate and, perhaps, the most speculative.
The Godless Frontier: First Accounts of Thaedros – A Compilation of Early Diaspora Records
A collection of letters, journals, and records from the first refugees to arrive on Thaedros. This volume offers a stark depiction of the immediate struggles faced by those who stepped through the worldgates into an unfamiliar and untamed land, detailing the first settlements, the loss of many who could not adapt, and the first hints that Thaedros itself was far from uninhabited.