The whole thing started in the early 1980s as a role-playing game. I had played the most famous role-playing game, Dungeons and Dragons, and many others. They were all based on fantasy worlds, inspired by the Lord of the Rings and other mythical stories, and populated with heros, monsters, gods, magic, treasure, runes, etc. One common thread among these games, however, was that they all were based on medieval European cultures.

Drawing on my interest in non-European, especially Asian history, I started about developing my own role-playing game and the fantasy world to provide its background. I based the culture on Asia (Japan, China, Korea, Mongolia, Tibet, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma), West Africa (Ghana, Songhai), southern Africa (Zulu, Swazi), and Mesoamerica (Aztecs). I was further inspired by myths and legends from all over the world.

Soon, I was playing gamemaster to my brother, a cousin, and a mutual friend. We had many adventures, and as we played into the wee hours of the night over many years, the the fantasy world developed, got fleshed out, and took shape. Somewhere along the way, the land became known as Ardashe.

Due to some prompting, I was inspired to publish everything about Ardashe, by the late-'80s called Aradashe, and the game built around it. I sent to the US government for copyright materials. I didn't return the materials because I never printed enough of the game to send in. Other friends played the game, increasing the response and input I received. About this time, I also developed the Aradashean language and script, since I was getting engrossed in linguistics.

Towards the '90s, my cousin moved to the US Northwest, our friend to Sacramento, and the game went dormant. It all sat in a briefcase in my closet. However, my mind often recorded new ideas I had for expanding Aradashe, inspired by my reading about other cultures.

In the '90s, the Internet spread to households all over the world, including mine. I have developed a few webpages on various subjects, and enjoyed the sharing of information and communication with people all over the world. It aslo gives people without proper funding for paper publishing a chance to publish electronically. I saw a new opportunity to set Aradashe in concrete form. I dusted off my briefcase, and began typing.

Here is the result.