Prologue

Tereson hobbled down the cobbled roads of Ironforge. He did not have the balance and dexterity he had once had. He was old, and knew that his days must soon come to an end. He had lived a long and full life, and was content with the knowledge that he had left none of his ambitions undone.

Tereson was a gnome. He barely came to the waist of a normal human, but had never felt hampered by his slight stature. His graying hair was hard to find nowadays, except in his lengthy mustache and thick bushy beard. The bags under his eyes seemed larger then his eyes, and by the limp in his step, it was obvious he had endured a life of hardship. He carried a cane in his right hand, a cane for which he held a special affinity to.

After nearly tripping on a small pebble in the street, he placed the cane down to balance himself. As he neared the entrance to the Explorer's League corridor in Ironforge, he saw the remains of a pterodactyl, hanging from the ceiling, and remembered the awe he had felt as a young boy, seeing those remains. He headed into the main corridor of the Explorer's League hall, and headed towards a table topped with many books.

The books were old and worn, and appeared as if they could disintegrate into dust at any moment. With the exception of one of the books, they had all been penned by Tereson himself, and the one that hadn't had its own special significance. Tereson climbed up onto the table and sat down. In the center of the room, sitting in a circle, surrounding the table, sat 8 gnomish young ones. Tereson had taken it upon himself to train them in the culture and history of the alliance. Before opening his mouth to begin the lecture of the day, a young one by the name of Cogsprint spoke up.

"Please tell us another story, Master Tereson."

Tereson had been in the habit of late of teaching the children the alliance's history through stories, but he had withheld one story in particular, fearful that the young ones were not old enough to truly appreciate its lessons yet. He eyed Cogsprint steadily, and made up his mind that the time had come.

"I have a very special story for all of you today." He said.

The children looked at him with gnome-eyed wonder, as if they were in a trance.

"My name is Tereson, and I am an honorary son or Teregan, the great mage of Gilneas, who founded of the very order we serve in, and I believe it is time you heard his story."

Tereson grabbed an old book with a red cover, opened it up gingerly, and began to read...