Dear Reader,

The following story is an account of one of the most well known incidents in contemporary history. Extracts from various academic journals, diaries, letters and first-hand accounts have been gathered together in order to deliver the most accurate representation of what happened during the reign of Emperor Makiel V. If you are familiar with the world of Avalon then please do skip straight ahead to the Prologue, however if you wish to familiarise yourself with the culture and society of Avalon City then we have provided you with a few extracts of one of our pamphlets.

I hope the following information will be of some use.

Yours,

Prof. J. Vandermersch

Head of the Department of Modern History

The Imperial University of Avalon

The World Of Avalon:

An information pamphlet on the culture of one of Aert's largest trading cities.

The city of Avalon is one of the few civilised places on Aert. For miles around there is nothing but mountains to the west, wasteland and farmland to the south and the Sea of Kings to the east. To the north of the city is the Imperial Forest, owned by the Emperor. At the centre of the city lies Avalon Cathedral citadel.

The city is split into two levels. The upper level is known as Avalon Proper or Avalon (streets) and the subterranean level is known as Avalon (Sidhe). Avalon (Sidhe) runs underneath the entirety of the upper city and is accessible through gates in the more deprived areas. The gates are guarded by gargoyles and grotesques. The areas surrounding these gates are home to the majority of the proletarians of the city. These areas are called the Boundaries as they not only house the gates to Avalon (Sidhe), but also lie on the outskirts of the city.

Many years ago I began the arduous task of cataloguing all the important information one would ever need know about the Undercity, in the hopes that, should it ever be needed, it would be readily available in this little pamphlet entitled 'The World of Avalon'. I can only hope my efforts will not go to waste.