Count Byron Entemoor
The following is a summary of the knowledge obtained over the years of 594-599 concerning the Hoylean race and its association with the Melorian Order. Many of these facts were uncovered during the restoration work, ordered by King Richard Endarr, on the Melorian archives, now held at the Pallantine Melorian Guild, outside of Evandarr city. Others were uncovered from research performed by teams of scholars appointed to work in the Hoylean Library in Elysia. I vouch for the accuracy of this work and commend the dedication of the scholars who spent thousands of hours painstakingly restoring faded and crumbling parchments and who risked their life in exotic places to retrieve or follow obscure clues to their conclusion.
Let us first begin with a summary of what was generally known prior to our work.
Over a thousand years ago, not far from the region now known as the Stonewood forest, their lived a race of people whom we call the Hoyleans. This name was given to them because of the great city, Hoyle, which we believed to be in that region because of the many artifacts uncovered there that bear its name. Historians and archeologists were fascinated by the Hoylean race because it was surrounded by a great mystery. Somewhere about the time of -535 on our calendar, they disappeared. This was known because no coins, no writings, no artifact ever uncovered and attributed to the Hoyleans, bore a date beyond the year of -535.
The following knowledge was generally assumed by most scholars and taught in Tyrran history classes.
The Hoylean civilization reached its peak at a time close to a thousand years ago. Most scholars who have examined their artifacts and writings agree that they were a semi-nomadic people centered in and about the plains of Hadran. The Hoyleans loved music, dance and games and many agree that most modern stringed instruments were developed by the Hoyleans. On the scholarly side, it is known that they were powerful in earth magic and their high mages explored the formal magics associated with time itself. During the Dark Years when much of the civilized world warred with minions of chaotic forces that were attacking Tyrra, the Hoylean people were scattered and their power diminished. Though they mingled with many peoples it has long been believed that the gypsy people are the most direct descendants of the Hoyleans as well as some of the barbarian tribes of Hadran.
The following knowledge has been uncovered by scholars working in the Melorian archives. It adds some surprising detail to the period we refer to as the Age of The Dark.
There exist two planes known as The Dark [New research has identified this as the Morumbrian Plane] and The Shadowbane. These planes come into magical conjunction with Tyrra at various times allowing the transfer of both magical energy and sentient forces. The plane of The Dark has invaded Tyrra in the past and came close to over-running it during the period in history known as the Age of The Dark (-560 to -372). Tyrra was saved from this fate by the discovery and channeling of magics from the plane of The Shadowbane which is inimical to that of The Dark [Morumbra].
We have known for a few years that many of the ancient Hoyleans chose to leave the plane of Tyrra at the height of the Dark Years. They achieved this by using their mastery of Time magics to aid in a transformation to a non- corporeal form of existence. Yet, even with this new knowledge it was still believed that they fled Tyrra to escape the spread of dark forces in their lands. More recently we have discovered that this was not the real reason. As Adepts in the magics of Time the Hoyleans already knew that Tyrra would prevail through the Dark Years. We now know that they left, not to escape the war that was, but rather to fight the war that was still to come.
You see, the Hoyleans knew that the next conjunction of the plane of The Dark [Morumbra] and the plane of Tyrra would take place in the 700th year of our calendar. They knew that this war would be far more difficult to fight because the plane of The Shadowbane would not be in conjunction in those years and the magics of The Shadowbane would be useless. Knowing this, a large number of them left behind everything they held dear, their entire existence as corporeal beings, to plan for the coming of The Dark [Morumbra), to preserve the knowledge needed to fight it, and to manipulate the threads of time in what ever manner would best improve Tyrra’s chance to survive. They transcended into beings able to travel the threads of time at will. We have learned to call them Time Flyers.
Now, not all Hoyleans became Time Flyers. A number of volunteers stayed behind. Their job was also hard. They were to leave their home and spread out among all the lands of Tyrra, multiplying their numbers while hiding their true ancestry. Above all they were told to preserve the purity of their race. Why? Because the Hoyleans did not master these magics through mere study of them. Rather, it was a characteristic of their race that they could work these magics given the proper study and training. Those Hoyleans who left behind their corporeal existence gave up the ability to multiply their numbers. Those who remained behind did not. Who are these living Hoyleans? We believe they are right before us, hidden among the Gypsy tribes of Tyrra. Are all Gypsies descendants of the Hoyleans? Probably not, and even of those that are, as memory of their ancestry faded, many may have mingled their blood at the least with the blood of other Gypsy tribes that were not descendents of the Hoyleans. Still, it is clear that a powerful weapon is available here among us. We know already that many of the Kaneristi gypsies are of Hoylean descent. This may largely explain their almost fanatical distrust and shunning of people who use magical means to transform to Gypsy race.
Now comes the point where the plans of the Hoyleans began to go astray. During the spring of 596, the elven races of Tyrra were threatened by the Burning Plague. They were saved from extinction through actions taken by a Hoylean “Time Flyer” named, Han’Tuk, who could not bear to see Tyrra lose its elves to such a terrible fate. The actions he took to prevent this irreparably altered the time line. In the new time line, the planes of Tyrra and The Dark [Morumbra] reached conjunction in 575. We know that forces. of The Dark [Morumbra]have been creeping into Tyrra for almost 25 years. The war is about to begin and Tyrra is not prepared.
The Hoylean Council of Time appeared in Tyrra last year to begin enlisting the aid of Tyrrans for the coming war under the guise of repairing the time line that Han’Tuk’s altered. They did not tell us about the coming war or the conjunction of planes. Perhaps they did not want to cause a panic. Perhaps they did not yet have a plan. Regardless, we now know what they have kept from us and have told them so. They have acknowledged the truth of what we have uncovered and they now do have a plan. Their adepts have searched the threads of time and identified a series of actions which must be taken, both in this time and in other times. These actions include:
They have told us that the best we can hope for is to bring the war to an early climax in the summer of the 600 year of Tyrra. They are not certain what will happen because they cannot travel threads of time that are constantly being altered and know for certain that the result will stay the same through other alterations. Thus, our fate hangs in balance and we can only do what they recommend to ensure our survival. One other force is working for us. The plane of The Shadowbane is still occasionally in conjunction with the plane of Tyrra. Thus, magics of The Shadowbane can still be channeled on occasion in this time. Also, much of the work back in time must be done in periods when all the Ancient magics were in ascendence and thus can be used to advantage.
Thus, the ability to travel through time is clearly the key to winning this war. And those of Hoylean descent are the key to traveling through time. We must make haste to find those Gypsies that are of Hoylean descent and enlist their aid in the coming war. We have recently learned even more startling things about this.
It seems that the Star Chamber in the Hoylean Library (from which all recent time travel has been initiated) is actually a Time Flyer in its natural, non-corporeal form. Thus, the natural manifestation of a Time Flyer is as an open portal into the void of time. The artifact we called the Hoylean Oracle is actually a magical device for one of Hoylean descent to summon a Time Flyer. The descriptions we have received from the Kaneristi Gypsies support this. Rathasa Kaner described the Oracle that came when he invoked the magic as a dark figure who’s face was a sea of stars. It was probably a Time Flyer in its natural form. Thus, the Bowl and Harp of the Oracle which they have held for so many years are the key to Time Travel and essential to us. It will help to identify Gypsies of Hoylean descent and will provide a means for time travel from any location, not just the Hoylean Library. This also makes it clear why Time Flyers do not require the use of the Star Chamber to travel themselves. They are a Star Chamber.