Zan ... it stood unsteadily, but it stood. It was alive, and something that should not exist, now existed. Its life span was measured in minutes, and it had no progeny, but we know it existed. From it flowed all else, for good or for ill ...

Thirsty Mary ... you can tell how thirsty I am, right?! Please, just a little sip? I won't rend, or tear, or bite - just two quick punctures, and I'll lap it up ... very quietly! Please? I'm so thirsty ...

Exhaustion ... all had fled, and only the dead remained. Except he lived. He could scarce believe that he did, that he had escaped the sweep of the great scythe, and could still feel cool air in his nostrils, but live he did. But that life, he now knew, was stripped of all sweetness ...

DeZex ... specifically designed for the exploration of desert worlds, this model dominated the eary 2100s till supplanted by the introduction of Wave Pattern Armour. Still can be found today in the hands of collectors and in some 5th world theme parks ....

The Hoxton Werewolf ...London had scarcely recovered from the horrors visited on the city by Jack the Ripper, when a series of savage murders occurred in 1896. Centred in North London, these murders were characterized by the animalistic shredding of the victims bodies ...

Priest of Thunder ... for the first time, and the only time, he intoned the words of the sacred ritual. The calling of the lightning could only be used once, in the most dire need, because its final effect would be death for the user. But until that moment it could be used and wielded ...

The Unicorn ... silently he pondered. Motionless he meditated and, as he did, glimmering shards of knowledge began to pierce his consciousness. Insight would come later, he knew, but for now he gloried in the growing understanding he was being blessed with. In that glorying, he exulted.

The Jemran Entity ... it seemed to glide across the groung, not even touching it, but the liquid residue left behind proved it was in contact with the surface. As it moved the shapes and openings in its body formed and reformed, although there was always a 'head' and 'arms' ...

Mud Soldier ... they'd covered almost 400 meters in the dark, sometimes crouching, sometimes crawling, sometimes belly deep in mud. Now they were close. He always felt a calm at times like this. The enemy was close, but they hadn't been spotted, and he paused to savor the moment.

Seneschal ..... human aristocrat of the Jeretlan world, he holds the mace of office for his king, who he has served most of his adult life. In that service he has been fulfilled, nor would he wish anything different for his descendants to come, for his position is hereditary ....

Grimgrad 2 ... the climb to the first outbuilding was dangerous and exhausting, but I had trained hard for it, and I was able to recover after a short period of time. What I had not anticipated was what was waiting for me in that outbuilding.

Old Tom ... some say he was a hard man, and I reckon he was. He grew up in hard circumstances, and when he come to this country, it didn't get easier. He had to carve a life outta the wilderness, with no-one to help him, and many hands turned against him, and he did it.

The Cartagena Manifestation ... in this rather shabby artists representation we see the creature followed from below by the Titan aquatic drone. It first appeared in late January 2203, and was detected as it moved into the Gulf of Mexico. Submarines of various nations shadowed it, then ...

Eruption ... from the sound he knew that the eruption was very near. There were only a few minutes left. He turned and faced outward to the sea. It had never seemed so beautiful to him - the vast blue dome of the sky, milk white clouds dotting the blue, and the dark green, eternal sea beneath.

Sortor ... this image, which researchers have now identified as being drawn in 1952, appears to be the earliest extant example of Millicent Patrick's work on the Gill-man design. This, combined with her documented work in 1953 and early 1954, seems now to confirm that she was the true creator ...

Grandpa Ord ... he didn't look like much, gnarled and half blind, with a gravelly, guttural voice that even the family, after all those years, could barely understand, but he was special. The children saw that first. We brought him into our service when they were still small ...

Respelldre ... the transformation had begun. It could manifest at any point on her body, and then spread outward from that point, Never though, had it begun from her head and shoulders, and she could feel that this time the transformation would be very different. There was a delicious tingling ...

Rage 4 ... eyeless it raged.Voiceless it mouthed ghastly shrieks, never to be heard. Then its bonds broke, and it was loose among us, dealing death with each blow, moving too quickly for our blows to land. Soon, only I was left, cowering, counting out the remaining seconds of my life.

The Milian Cyclops ... and the call went up across Hellas, for the depredations of this monster were known even to the lands of the barbarians, and great heroes came to slay it, and gain fame and laurels for themselves. From Thebes came Actaeon, the great bowman, from far off Naxos came Tareus ...

Fuzzy Fred ... we take 'im outta the mothballs every once in a while - just fer fun, y'know. He don't hardly know where he is most a' the time,but yuh can get 'im goin' by askin' about the 'old days'. Then he's off - talkin' about Sonny, "Gorgeous George, 'Taco', and 'Gumball', and all them guys.

Breaching the Tower ... I was one of a long line. How many generations preceded me I cannot know. But I do know this - I was there, in that place, in that time, with the knowledge, and the weapons to end it - to end the evil that he had done, the evil that he was, and the evil he might do. Oriaste!

Mim ... this creature, which was discovered in the ruins of the Galaxy Genesis labs was "adopted" by one of our low level techs, and became a kind of unofficial mascot in our facility. Wearing a constantly surprised expression, it was small, awkward and seemingly enamoured of human companionship.

The Being ... born in the nuclear storm, he was not atomized or incinerated, but hardened. Not only did his body become covered with an ultra tough crust, his inner being itself was twisted and hardened as well. Once a man, once thoughtful and kind, he retained a human shape ...

Skadria .... writhing, it emerged from the blackness. Undulating, its tentacles curled and twisted. Extending, its spine lengthened. Glowing, emanating, emitting, from within it glowed, and the transformation began.

Orobodroq ... I enjoy coming to my trophy room. Its a place I can contemplate my victories, and my greatness. Of course, greatness can only be achieved by vanquishing one's enemies, and I have done that. That's why I enjoy my trophy room. I am no mere annihilator. There is mercy in me.

Aristrikeps ... now Aristrikeps strode across the waste that remained of Bubastinek to join his cousins Axilterops, Inkwornos, and Elemenectus - the three God-monsters. As the last remnants of the tribes of Eret came against him he wiped them from the face of the earth.

Seer ... fierce he was, and severe in his ways. Yet he saw the truth when all of us were blind, he spoke the truth when all of us were mute, and he moved in change, when our fear held us in place. Hard it was to follow him, for his path led us through the barren wilderness, and we were sore pressed

Hodadiah ...ye see what I'm holdin'? Thats the truth, old son. Thats all that matters, and all that counts in the end. If ye don't have that ye don't have nuthin, and if ye have it ye don't need nuthin' else. Ye can buy anythin' ye want, and thumb yer nose at toff and cockney alike.

Imrin ... though the seas raged around me, I stood strong on my high perch. My legs were pillars of strength as It roared its threats against me. Tendrils of fear licked at my heart, but I cast them away, and I whispered to it in a voice of thunder: "Today is the day you die."

Manifesting ... at one and the same time he was being born, and the energies he was ripping from inside himself were giving birth in their turn. From his hands streamed all that was, all that is, and all that ever will be, and he crouched under the weight of the universe ...

Ordsodrun ... wide it roamed, and its ravages were the ruin of the land, the cause of the fall of Atraqitix the King, and the end of his thousand year line. Folly it was to send massed armies against it - they were mangled as paltry things, and no weapon they wielded could damage the monster.

Rooted ... he’d wanted stability and security, and now he had it. Rooted and embedded in the soil, his body entwined and pressed tightly by those very roots, his eyes plucked out by those very roots, and his brain shredded by those very roots, he still retained a vestige of consciousness.

Death's Head ... the paper I had made from the skin of a mummy from the Caves of Cruzata. The pigments themselves were ground using gravestones from the crypts of La Recoleta, and the mausoleums of Highgate. This was the single most laborious part of the procedure ...

The Stratton Lane Slasher ... this drawing, dating from 1897, is an artist's interpretation of what this famous killer may have looked like. Of course, the eyewitness testimony of the time is very fragmentary, and seems to borrow from British accounts of the more famous Jack the Ripper ...

Yseemgrinda ... this is the first standing Shroud. Before, the Shrouds had no foundation in the earth, had no tendrils reaching to the core and through the living rock, and thus were limited in the hurt they could do, and the horror that they could command.

Possum Warrior ... not a prepossessing appearance, but a ferocious little warrior was this one. Shrewd and analytical, he could use anger to his advantage in the pinches, and was a lot stronger than he looked. We lost him at Prana. He survived, but was too grievously wounded to return to combat.

Cosmic Man ... in him turned the galactic wheel. That motion had not started with him, nor did he know who the great watchmaker was, but he felt its revolution in him, through him, and from him, outward to the galaxy, and the unbounded universe beyond ...

The Unseeing Seeker ... he had long sought, both within himself, and without. He had intelligence, and insight, but he could not apply those insights, so they were worthless. He could see, but not perceive. He could feel, finally, but not empathize. He could help others, but not himself.

Golden Glob ... He had turned away from me, and when he turned back to face me he was cupping something in his hand. Instinctively, I took a step backward. But he moved very slowly then, taking his hands to the tabletop, and slowly opening them. A small object rested on the tabletop ...

Silas ... he was a pillar of the church, they said. Never missed a Sunday service in over 50 years, and was often seen in the building during the week, alone, head bowed, kneeling before his God in fervent prayer. And he did good works, too - but he was not a good man.

The Weaving ... it did not start on the ground, but in the heavens. It dd start with the seer, but in the space between the stars. It did not start with his spell, but in the mind of God. Thus the weaving emerged from the great, and moved to the small. B

Goruk-Gora-Ira... it was a gesture, a movement of hands and body, and a flash of an expression. But that momentary indication was enough to ignite a conflict that still haunts the Empire and its satellites to this day.

The Lizard ... in his mind's eye this is how he saw himself. Reptilian, barely recognizable as a man, his skin crusted, spikey, and a bilious yellow, his nose brutish, his skull hairless, fangs in a gaping mouth, he felt no longer human. So he saw himself, and so he painted himself.

Aitrin the Bestower ... the sceptre was extended, and I paused. From time immemorial this ritual had united our peoples, from one race to another, in recognition of our shared history, and our shared bonds, and our shared commitments. Yet I paused. Aitrin had been my teacher, and my guide ...

Ranagal ... package art for the first successful GenEng toy, first released in 2062. Marketed to children between the ages of 5 and 10, it enjoyed good sales for about 8 or 9 years. Then tastes changed, and it was eased off the nation's shelves for other products. But the Ranagals lived on ...

Gulgola's House ... no one ever approached Gulgola's House. We watched it from afar, and cursed it in low voices. No-one ever gazed on the door of Gulgola's House - who could bring themself to stand in front of that ghastly portal? No-one ever dared to grasp the twisted knob on the door

Amenemhet ... this curious object, taken from a tomb robber caught at Saqqara in 2013, is a bas relief constructed entirely of gold, and then painted with pigments that have yet to be identified. Minutely crafted hieroglyphic inscriptions on the back identfy the person as Amenemhet. Who was he?

The Koinoid Being ... we were prepared. We had every possible recording device in our arsenal primed ... and we forgot them all in the presence of the creature. Finally scant meters away from it, we were overwhelmed - by its immensity, by its ability to hover impossibly, just above the ground.

Burg Vergitsky ... it was still, very still. I moved my oars slowly, and when they dipped into the water they made no sound. I made sure of that. There was no hurry now. In minutes I would breach the shore, and step out of my boat - so quietly. For a minute I paused. Behind me my boat drifted away

Iron Axe ... he was the first, the ancestor of them all - the great line of the Black Mountain dwarves. From him sprang Ordur Bonebreaker, from Ordur sprang Nerik of the Distant Isle, from Nerik sprang Thormain Brightblade, and from Thormain sprang Bladehelm. This chronicle is their story.