Disclaimer: This is not the final version as it will be available from the usual e-book sellers and eventually, bookstores. Rather, it should be seen as an (almost) final draft. If you are interested in becoming a beta reader, feel free to drop me a line at removetoavoidspam-betareaders@jceberdt.eu.
Chapter 1: A Curious Foundling
An earnest footnote to the tale of Alagariel
by Ferdinand de Seyssel
Whether Alagariel Vatra is a historical figure or a mythical one is a matter of endless scholarly debate. Did she actually exist? It is impossible to determine with any degree of certainty. Elven historical works strongly imply that she was real. Even if one takes elven consensus at face value, the details of her tale vary dramatically even in elven histories. Every detail about her changes, depending on the telling. A great many names have been claimed to refer to her. Aside from the obvious ones such as ‘Alagariel Elf Queen’, ‘High Queen of the Elves’ and ‘Queen of Fire’ there are also monikers such as ‘Marshall of Vatan’, ‘Dragon Queen’, ‘Dragon Lady’, ‘Blade Mistress’, ‘Lady Fire’ and countless others that may or may not refer to the same person.
Elven scholars even go so far as to claim that some structures still existing today were called out of the ground by Alagariel’s own magic. Those who have sailed along the coast of Iurrak between Konigsberg and Erythrae have all seen one of the buildings attributed to Alagariel, namely the admittedly breathtaking Tower of Dragons. However, despite elven claims that she was primarily responsible for the magical construction of that magnificent edifice, this humble researcher has not managed to uncover any conclusive proof that this is, in fact, true.
Alagariel’s legend holds that she was responsible for driving demons from Vatan at the beginning of the elven calendar almost twenty thousand years ago. Of course, this is where things become truly impossible to verify. As little reliable information as there is to be found about Alagariel, material on her adversaries is even more scarce. In fact reliable documents describing events that occurred so long ago are essentially non-existent. No corroboration exists between the dating of Alagariel’s story and the architectural sites that are said to be associated with her reign. Certainly, the pristine condition of these buildings seems to make the claims unlikely even if they are said to be magical. Central to the many tellings of the Queen of Fire’s story is the recurring, rather fantastic, theme of her alliance with dragons and perhaps also giants. No reliable sightings of either of these species are known to exist.
Through these mists of uncertainly, all we can say for certain is that the nursery rhyme ’Alagariel’ which almost everyone in Taldyr and beyond has grown up with is at least inspired by her story, whether it really happened or not. Certainly, there are a great many elements which seem to be fanciful and while I do not mean to distress my elven colleagues it is perhaps best to see Alagariel’s tale as the distillation of a great many events and people in ancient history. We should see the tale in terms of metaphor and allegory rather than as a representation of an actual historical figure.
(From the works of his Royal Highness Ferdinand de Seyssel, Prince of Iurrak and Rector Magnificus of the University of Erythrae, in one of his countless contributions to the Encyclopedia Royalis Iurraka, circa 975.)
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