The ancient ruins that dot the countryside are a familiar sight to the inhabitants of the Shivering Isles.

So familiar that their true significance has escaped notice of most, until now. I have recently uncovered
the terrible secret hidden in these ruins, and I will now share this secret with you. But be warned - this
knowledge may be too much for some, as you will know the awful fate that lies in store for you, but
will be powerless to do anything to prevent it. If you are strong enough of mind to withstand the
psychic shock of having your grim future laid bare, read on.
My interest in the ruins began with a simple observation all the ruins visible on the surface appear to
be of roughly the same age and architectural style. !ho created these once-mighty structures, and what
happened to them"
#urther investigation revealed an even stranger truth although the ruins superficially all appear to
derive from the same era, they are in fact of wildly differing ages. Many thousands of years separate
the ruins of $ylarne %by far the oldest e&tant on the surface, despite its relatively well-maintained state'
from the ruins of (brocca, which at almost ),*** years old is one of the youngest sites in the Isles. #or
those who would dismiss this conclusion, I invite you to visit the ruins and e&amine the evidence for
yourselves the depth of strata covering the buried portions of the structures+ the weathering of the
e&posed stone+ the growth of vegetation on and around the structures+ etc. %I have compiled the
evidence in a separate monograph, ,-ating the .redecessor /uins Shocking 0ew (vidence
$omprehensively (&plained,, which is presently unpublished, though I will gladly make it available
for those scholars wishing to delve further into the minutiae of this sub1ect.'
2nce I began to accurately establish the dates of the various ruins, a disturbing pattern emerged. The
ruins fell into distinct periods, each period separated by e&actly ),*** years from the other %although
$ylarne remains the e&ception, being many thousands of years older than the ne&t oldest e&tant ruin -
suggesting only that the ruins from many earlier eras lie waiting to be discovered, or have been lost to
the ravages of time'.
!hat could account for this process of destruction, repeating itself every ),*** years without fail" The
legend of the 3reymarch sprang immediately to mind, that ancient tale of a vengeful god venting his
wrath upon the land. !hat if it were more than a legend" !hat if it were the dimly-remembered
account of a real event"
I suddenly reali4ed the significance of the dating of the most recent ruin that I had discovered (brocca,
which my tests proved to be about ),*** years old. 5es, -ear /eader, we come to it at last. The
$ataclysm is upon us again. I have dated the ruins of (brocca to great accuracy+ I know the very year
of our -oom. I refrain from publishing the e&act date, as this knowledge is a terrible burden that I
would not inflict on others.
#or a long time I hesitated from issuing even this general warning, fearful of inciting panic or despair.
But I have concluded that it is better to have time to prepare for the (nd in whatever way one sees fit
than to have it thrust upon them unawares. I no longer doubt that the legend of the 3reymarch is based
on historical events, and that the last days of our civili4ation will be terrible - the blasted and tumbled
stones of the mighty cities of bygone eras are testament enough to that. But I find it strangely
comforting to know that our end is already written in the stones of our .redecessors, and that struggling
against our -oom is as pointless as shouting against the incoming tide. I hope that at least a few of my
readers will find e6ual solace in this bleak foreknowledge.