Foreword

## THE SHADOW BOOK

Throughout the history of the Universe, we've heard many stories about the constant battle between Chaos and Imagination. From the very first myths about the Universe's creation to Aleros's trials after discovering the Nexus and then to the epic tales of Figroth Felanor's adventures. A lot of these stories belong to the forgotten past, when the First Builders were not just history, yet. Nowadays, they're not even that, having moved to the domain of myths, yet stories of Imagination and Chaos continue. They have done so for thousands of years.

However, of all such events, the Maelstrom War might be the story of Chaos's most dreadful attack, yet. Never before has Chaos been able to take form in such quantities and gain the power and influence of the Nexus. Many minifigures heeded the call to save Imagination and protect the Universe. Yet, the path to victory is not easy and many will never make it to it.

That is what first urged me to decide to write this book. I wanted to record the stories of the Nexus Force's people, so that its fallen heroes, nameless or not, will never be forgotten. We support our happiness on our friends' sacrifices and that's why we must never forsake them.

If one is to record Nexus Force stories, though, they might as well do a full job and cover the history of the whole war. But to increase the the educational and entertainment factors, I thought I'd do that through personal stories. And the story that I know best is my own. And that's the main one I'll
be telling.

You may think I'm conceited to choose my own story, but wait to read it before you judge me. I think it's quite interesting. And don't blame me for saying that. It's just that trouble follows me everywhere. Besides, my story overlaps with that of many others and you'll be able to learn theirs, too. And
where I have not been able to be myself, I shall narrate what I've heard from others.

For reasons that will become apparent as you read the story, the main character's name has been removed from this book wherever it is mentioned and replaced with the alias of 'Shadow' to reflect the shady nature of how I am hiding my identity. You may also find more reasons for the picking of the name as you read the story. Other names have also been changed for what I believe to be obvious reasons.

For an even more complete tome, I have now decided to also include my translations of several old stories. While they may not be directly linked to the recent events of the Maelstrom War, they are part of Crux's history and can help us understand a lot about the Nexus, Chaos and more. And they sure are great stories.

But let's begin with the present and arrive in the past later to find answers to
the questions that the present's study will bring about.

                                                                                                                                                                               -Jack Irone

### Foreword II

Hello reader. Congratulations! If you are reading this, you must be a very special person; or at least related to me. This is either the original copy of the Shadow Book or one of its really rare exact replicas. This edition is the unabridged version of the book I wrote, trusted only to the few people that can keep its secrets.
Aside from the characters' identities, this book also holds some of my studies on Imagination, Chaos and Superian powers. A lot of this research has been published in separate books, but this collection of most of it also includes some knowledge that I did not think would be wise to share.

So, be glad reader, for being one of the select few who can read this.

                                                                                                                                                                -Strange Odd Shadow

### Foreword III

This is the last foreword, I promise. After that, we get to the actual story. So, hi there, this is not the same person writing. I am the one using the
nickname of fffffplayer1. I am not going to go into detail on how I came about this manuscript, but I did and after detailed study of it, I have decided to share it with the world. Well, part of it. Strange Odd Shadow might have wanted to make a complete book, but I think I might bore the people of an entirely different Universe with the detailed history of the Maelstrom War. So, instead I have made a selection of the more interesting stories to present to you. Besides, I am a busy man and have limited time to make these translations.
A few notes first, though. As one might expect, the people on a different planet in a different Universe don't actually speak English. However, I have translated the main language used by most people appearing in the story (Galazian) to English. Similarly, the more archaic language that appears in Castellar Regnum is translated to Latin, so that you may better understand what this language would feel like for the characters. On the other hand, the language of the First Builders I have left intact to reflect the fact that almost nobody understands it.

I would also like to point out something about the letter F. Reading the story,
you will find that it has some special importance for the story. Low the chances may be, it would seem that the same character ('F') represents
the same consonant in Galazian. This is not the only occurrence of such a thing. There are also words like minifigure and Nexus that are used the same or almost the same in Galazian or the First Builders' Language. It seems very odd to me, but I have learnt to just go with it.

Having said all that, I think we are ready to begin with the story. I hope you enjoy it as I have. Here is the story of a minifigure named Strange Odd Shadow. . .

                                                                                                                                                                               -fffffplayer1

Start at the Index.

Or go to the first story right away: The Story of a Minifigure: Strange Odd Shadow.