Book 1 Preface:

    I must admit that I was surprised to learn that two of the five were Human. 
At least part of the surprise was pleasant sort of a 'hooray for our team' 
thing, but the rest was more mundane surprise. From some of the first things I 
had learned about this little band of odd-venturers, I knew that they had 
engaged in many contests with wizards and won. The thought of a pair of Humans 
surviving these affairs was astonishing, as they should have had absolutely no 
defense against magic. (This was before the spread of Fenarian witchcraft 
throughout the East and some of the Human ghettos of the Empire, and so they 
should not have had even that minimal protection.)
    When I learned that the initial motivating force behind their quest was to 
find the Great Weapons, this made a bit more sense of it. The Great Weapons 
(called the "Dark Swords of Faerie" in the Eastern Kingdoms) are artifacts of 
immense power. Enough, even, to allow Humans to perform great feats of magic. 
This, then, made everything seem clear. For a while.
    But these five kept throwing more mysteries at me. One was a thief, so what 
was he doing playing hero? One was a healer from Elde, so what was he doing in 
the Empire? Was that Elven girl a child or not? I determined to delve in deeper 
in order to clear up these mysteries. Unfortunately, that wouldn't happen for 
quite some time.