PROLOGUE

Dear Reader,

You are about to embark upon a journey that started thousands of years ago, when a magical species known as Peridots graced this Earth. Where they came from, no one knows. To speculate is to pursue a fool’s errand, for their kinship and kindness are all that matter. Rumors of their existence predate those of the unicorn and pixy, and like the unicorn and pixy, the Peridot is thought of as nothing more than fantasy.

I assure you, dear reader, the Peridot is as real as the sea, the sky, and the wilderness. If this is the first you have heard of them, then you must attribute their anonymity to the curse of silence. The species is without a voice of their own, a flaw in their anatomy perhaps. As such, they possess no record of their existence, no tome to declare their position in the world. Until now.

It is with great privilege that I, Fasciana de Saggia, have been chosen by the Peridots to tell their story. In this bestiary, you will find tales, lore, and secrets of a species that have been passed down from one generation to the next, for over millennia, now immortalized as canon.

From this moment forth, on the ninth day of May in the year two thousand and twenty three, the shroud over this mythical creature finally unveils itself.

Behold … The Peridoctus.