Prologue

Prologue


There has been much written about the Four (4) Husbands of the Confederation and their wives, The Witches of Nirvana. The Great War of Liberation, which restored their dynasty, is already fading into the past. This work, instead of focusing on the War, will instead look into the preceeding year and deal with circumstances surrounding the conception of those eight remarkable children. Here again, there has been much written but writers have tended to focus on the parts to the exclusion of the whole. For example, the Dwarven record focuses on Ulrich, the Cisterian on Oligarth, the Listerian on Gilbert and the Valley Men on Orwald. What is not always appreciated is that all six of the Mothers delivered at the Citadel within a month of one another, were friends and set in motion one of the most incredible epics in history.

As the author I won’t apologize to my readers that I'm a historian. In deciding to write this record I used the sources from the Archives of Elves, Dwarves and Men. I also drew from the diaries and journals of the principles. Further I had access to the official records of the Nirvana Coven as well as the Listerian and Cisterian Councils. This gave me access to declassified Council minutes and the Scry-Velum messages that the Society of Sisters has so meticulously maintained. Also there were many small histories, biographies, novels and dramatic productions. I am most indebted to the playwrights, who were contemporary to the period, and had the opportunity to meet and interview many of the characters in their productions. Several of these, in addition to personal contact, were granted access to notes and journals that have since been lost to posterity. No doubt I'll be criticized for including such sources in a historical work, however I must point out that these authors had a vested interest in staying close to the actual events. Many of their audience, actually knew the personas in wartime and public life and to not consider the knowledge and experience of this audience would have opened their work to censure and ridicule.

Once I had finished the research and organized materials into a chronology, I paused for several months to digest it. It struck me at the time that it would be a travesty to take the original material and attempt to homogenize it. The words that spoke from the source materials were so unique and personal, I realized the scope of loss that would result by rolling everything together into a single voice. The scenes that portray intimacy come from biographies, artistic renderings, dairies and other accounts which record the conceptions in often graphic detail. Those who lack the maturity and/or tolerance for such material should not read the work. Further there are gaps and for me to fill these in for the purpose of readable, is more a liability than a service. To be sure I took some literary license with minor omissions that were inconsequential and obvious, but not liberties bearing on the structure of the events and relationships they fostered. Where such omissions appear, I have chosen instead to let the readers fill in the gaps with their own wisdom and good judgment. While this might cause the history to appear choppy and difficult to follow, it is better in my view for the reader to make an occasional assumption, than be spoon fed by easy uncertainties. In writing in this way, the point of view skips around and I risk the consequence of a smaller following, however, I prefer this outcome to any appearance of alterating the marerial for the purpose of marketing.

There has been an ongoing interest in everything about these events. They still carry a fascination and while the memory might grow old the record of what happened will never be forgotten. As long as men and women honor courage and stand up for righteousness, what occurred in that little Valley over a thousand years ago will forever excite our imaginations.