My name is Adept Geraden. I come from a world known as Mordant. On that world,
I was a member of the Congery. The Congery are a group of what you would
probably call "magicians".  They fashioned mirrors, which would allow one to
move from one place to another. Possibly even one alternate reality to another.
The exact nature of these other places made accessible by their mirrors has
been the subject of debate within the Congery for a very long time.

During a time of great conflict, the time known as "Mordants Need", I fashioned
a mirror which took me to the abode of the Lady Terisa of Morgan. She came back
with me to Mordant, but proved not to be the great champion we sought. Still
seeking our champion to save the day in our hour of need, I then fashioned
another mirror which brought back a great warrior, dressed in a white space
suit and carrying a large hand held laser weapon.

Eventually, the day was saved, and events up to that point were written about
in historical documents, by the celebrated author Stephen Donaldson, and
published sometime during the 1980's in the current reality and timeline. The
two books, A Man Rides Through, and The Mirror of Her Dreams, are usually
collectively referred to as Mordants Need.

The historical documents end with Adept Geraden marrying the Lady Terisa of
Morgan, and living happily forever after in the realm of Mordant. Harsh reality
having nothing to do with fairy stories and happily forever afters, the Lady
Terisa died in childbirth. The male child survived, and was adopted out to the
kings daughter, the Lady Elega, herself childless, and her husband, now the
Castellan of the castle, the former champion that Adept had brought forth.

Devastated by the turn of events, Geraden fled Mordant, through the mirror
which he had previously used to bring forth Mordant's champion.

Geraden found himself on the surface of a planet, just outside a small village.
There were a number of armed soldiers around, and signs of a great conflict in
the recent past. Still dressed in his flowing robes from Mordant, one of the
soldiers mistook him for a missing court jester they had been seeking.
Unfamiliar with the ways of this new environment, Geraden figured the best
course of action at this point was to play along.

Loaded into a small personnel carrier, Geraden was amazed as the ship left the
surface of the planet and travelled to an orbiting space port. There he was
handed over to a public official, who informed him that all he had to do was a
short entertainment segment for the visiting dignitaries, who were there to
sign a peace treaty following the conclusion of hostilities in the system. And
help themselves to a minor feast in the process. After which, he would be paid
a small amount, and given a food and bedding pass for the next 24 hours on the
station. Sing for his supper, as it were.

Fortunately, Geraden was no stranger to these goings-on, having enjoyed many
such banquets in the great hall of King Joyce back on Mordant. And he had
memorized many a ribald little ditty during this time.

After his rather rough and unpolished performance, which never the less was met
with much applause and jaunty laughter, Geraden was escorted away to the more
general population feeding area. This food hall was fairly packed, with people
from all walks of life here to observe the signing of the peace treaty. To this
end, there were view screens all over the place. Upon entering, Geraden was
immediately recognized as being the last performer, and was accorded much
cheering, and minor celebrity status.

One group in particular, who occupied a table not far from the entrance, and
who sat with their backs to the wall, immediately made a seat available and
insisted Geraden join them. The other patrons seemed unwilling to argue with
their request. The two leaders of this little group identified themselves as
Jason Burke and Simon Wills. In hindsight, Geraden would deduce that these
names were probably aliases. They revealed that they were traders, with a small
contingent of freighters and armed escort.

Over the course of many hours, during which Geraden ate many foods which were
unfamiliar to him, and drank much ale, which was very familiar to him, and
exchanged tales of adventure and derring-do with his new friends, Geraden
accepted an invitation to join his new friends on their trading adventures.

Geradens duties were loosely defined as "light entertainment, assist the cook,
and general odd-jobs".

One day, one of the escort pilots was taken ill, after some shore leave on a
remote, un-catalog'd planet and an encounter with some indigenous fauna. After
some hasty pilot training, and a quick lodgement of some possibly dodgy
paperwork for a pilots license, Geraden became a pilot in his very own
Sidewinder. It actually belonged to the rogue traders, Burke and Wills, but
Geraden considered it "his" while ever he was flying it.

Geradens new duties became mostly "scout". Scouting out nearby systems to where
the group was currently operating, looking for opportunities to make a fast
buck. Or an illegal buck. Same diff. A credit is a credit is a credit. Launder
it enough times, clean deals mixed with dirty deeds, eventually, if you're rich
enough, nobody particularly cares where it came from.

And, if you get to be rich enough, you get the opportunity to go straight, and
become a respected, law-abiding, member of society. And settle down to enjoy
your ill-gotten gains. Which is what became of Burke and Wills. They settled
down and got "respectable".

Geraden walked away from the old consortium with his beloved sidewinder. It was
given a fresh coat of paint, and a new ID number. Dodgy as all get out, but the
rogue traders were nothing if not very good at dodgy deals. It passed
inspection by the authorities, and was duly transferred into Geradens name.

So, with a shiny new ship, a pocket full of credits, and a NavComp full of
wonderous places to seek adventure, Geraden set off on his own to begin
exploring the 34th century.  Would he come across his long lost Mordant in this
reality. Did it even exist in this reality. In the past, the present, or even
the future of this reality. Answers to these questions would be greatly desired
by the Congery back on Mordant. Not that returning, ever, seemed likely. Not
realising just how big this particular alternative reality was, Geraden failed
to record the names of either the planet he arrived at, or even the Starport he
visited shortly after, where he sang for his supper. More likely, the excessive
consumption of ale in the company of Burke of Wills led to the killing of a few
too many brain cells.