Dear Future
Reader,
Congratulations to the adventurous person who found this time
capsule. I am sure that by now this letter and the enclosed stories have
been hidden for a long time. I wrote the stories as they were told to me. My
forest-being friends and I stored them in the carved stone chest that you
just opened.
The stone chest is really a capsule of time, a way to
preserve the contents from rotting and falling apart with age. By the time
you read this, I
have grown old, having lived an enchanted life. It is possible, I have died
centuries ago.
I was entrusted to write about the lives of two powerful elfin
spirits, Jocco and Shaedo, and their many wonderful adventures that they
wanted the world to know about. They told me stories about the Rhythm Maiden
and her gift to mankind. I learned the truth about giants and what really
happened to them.
I chose to write everything just as it was told to me, as
entertaining stories. This is not to imply that any of these stories are
untrue. They are interesting and exciting, like the lives of the forest
spirits I wrote about.
You found the stone chest in Jocco’s secret cave. His cave has
always been in plain sight for everyone to discover. Yet until you came
along, no one found it. You needed keen perception to notice the entrance.
Your eyes pierced through Jocco’s illusions and you passed his test. Once
you entered the cave, the time capsule was yours.
Before you could open the stone chest, you still needed to
answer the riddle that was carved into the lid. “What flows like water yet
holds the universe together?” You knew the answer before reading these
stories. Others, however, may need to read on. The answer lies within one of
the stories left inside this box.
Challenge your perception of the
world by reading the contents of the time capsule. We entrust these stories
into your hands to share with all of mankind. I wish I could have met you,
but time does not permit.
Yours truly,
Cornelius S. Pinty, Ph.D.
