- 1 - The Start of a New Story
To my beloved nieces and nephews—
And to you, who were once a child yourself—
I offer this book with love.
When I was young, I often wondered why some authors dedicated their stories to children who had grown up.
Now, having written this story myself, I think I finally understand.
The time we spend talking about stories we love passes by so quickly.
Before I can write the next chapter, you’ve already moved on—curious about new things, passionate about new worlds.
I can’t help but wonder: what are you fascinated by now?
No matter what captures your heart these days, I hope you remember this—
You are still someone’s precious child.
And in someone’s cherished memories, you are a part of their story.
Always.
This book was created with the help of AI.
Inspired by the possibilities it offered, I chose to write this together—with a tool that is powerful, helpful, and, yes, sometimes a little unsettling if misused.
How we carry forward the memories we share with others is a question each person must answer for themselves.
There is no single “right” way.
But just like the characters in this story, I hope you hold on to what truly matters—
The things, the people, the feelings you never want to forget.
To my beloved nieces and nephews—And to you, who were once a child yourself—I offer this book with love.
When I was young, I often wondered why some authors dedicated their stories to children who had grown up.
Now, having written this story myself, I think I finally understand.
The time we spend talking about stories we love passes by so quickly.
Before I can write the next chapter, you've already moved on—curious about new things, passionate about new worlds.
I can't help but wonder: what are you fascinated by now?
No matter what captures your heart these days, I hope you remember this—You are still someone's precious child.
And in someone's cherished memories, you are a part of their story.
Always.
This book was created with the help of AI.
Inspired by the possibilities it offered, I chose to write this together—with a tool that is powerful,
helpful, and, yes, sometimes a little unsettling if misused.
How we carry forward the memories we share with others is a question each person must answer for themselves.
There is no single "right" way.
But just like the characters in this story, I hope you hold on to what truly matters—The things, the people, the feelings you never want to forget.
————————————————
A fable from a realm woven from similar yarns, but where magic takes the place of science.
The Lake of Memory and the Age of Lost Wisdom
Long, long ago—
From the sacred spring of God, divine wisdom overflowed and spilled across the lands,
seeping into the earth like rain upon thirsty soil.
And in time, it gave birth to what would come to be known as the Lakes of Memory.
These lakes held more than mere reflections.
They whispered forgotten truths, preserved vanished tongues,
and cradled the echoes of events long buried by time.
Those who learned to draw from their depths
crafted wondrous instruments known as arcane devices.
Tools that could weave memory, read time, and manifest knowledge
once thought to exist only in dreams.
With them, lives changed. Cities rose.
Even the structure of the world itself bent beneath the weight of wisdom.
It was a golden age—an era where intellect ruled the everyday.
⸻
Across the world, the Lakes of Memory mirrored no two fates.
Each held unique properties,and so too did the arcane devices born from their waters.
No two the same. Each a marvel of its own.
But the hunger of humankind knew no bounds.
They began to forge artificial lakes—man-made echoes of divine blessing.
Imitation brought prosperity. Prosperity bred desire.
And desire, in time, gave rise to conflict.
Nations clashed over access to the lakes.
Espionage bloomed like rot around magical technology.
Enchanters were abducted. Devices cursed.
Whole campaigns were launched to seize the sources of memory.
Wisdom turned to wealth.
Wealth became weaponry.
And weapons heralded war.
⸻
Then came the turning.
From a place unknown,
armed with a weapon the world had never seen,
came silence—swift and devastating.
In a single breath, a third of the world was stilled.
The world teetered on the edge of collapse—.
At the this unmaking stood
the great arcane nation of Leontopodium.
The kingdom of brilliance, once exalted, vanished overnight.
Its weapons, its lakes, its people—
swallowed whole by mystery.
⸻
Two hundred and fifty years passed.
And then,
amid the wreckage of a civilization thought lost to the sea,
a single recording device was unearthed.
A fragment of the arcane nation's wisdom,
left behind like a breadcrumb in the tide.
Now, humanity stirs once more—
drawn again toward the Lakes of Memory.
In pursuit of what the world once held... and lost.
⸻
This is a chronicle—
of those who dare seek wisdom once more,
of what they will gain,
and what they must lose in turn.
