Chapter Text
As many have pointed out to me, some more rudely than others, the sources used for this chronicle are lacking in many places, and large portions of the text rely on inference or more fantastical accounts to continue the historical narrative. Though some may consider it the fault of poor researching and sensational storytelling, the fact of the matter is that our homeworld has been wracked by war for most of its long, long history, and as a result, highly detailed, accurate references are scarce for those of us trying to shed light on an ancient past. The Decepticons, in particular, have traditionally disregarded written history save for its value as propaganda, and there is virtually no information about their various leaders uncolored by highly biased accounts, be they from the Decepticons themselves or their Autobot foes.
With these limitations ever-present in my mainframe, I have poured exhaustive amounts of effort into finding and properly researching the records that we do have, using archaeology, mythology, and careful deduction to fill in what gaps remain. The extreme difficulties of this process cannot be understated–the destruction of the Hall of Records and Autobot Storage Asteroid, followed by suppression and purging of historical texts under the Maximal Elders, obliterated most of what precious pre-Great War sources remained to us. What is left comes from salvaged databases, oral histories, the works of other contemporary historians, archaeological evidence from before the Great Transformation, a scant few surviving contemporary publications, and an ever-shrinking number of eye-witness accounts. With such sources forming the backbone of modern historical research, it is no wonder that any text on subjects dating as far back as eleven million years will be riddled with dubious claims and contradictory evidence.
The formation of the Decepticon faction by Gladiaron, for example, is recounted only by pro-Decepticon propaganda material, oral storytelling, and Autobot smear campaigns. Similarly, Gladiaron's death is simultaneously attributed to both an Autobot sniper and the First Triumvirate, with not even the Decepticons sure of which story to believe. Decepticon records of Devron’s rise to power, meanwhile, are all but nonexistent save for a museum description of Halaica’s ‘The 113th Enclave,’ his legacy all but destroyed in historical purges by Trannis and Megatron during their attempts to aggrandize themselves. According to Autobot propaganda, meanwhile, Devron was, alternatively, a spark-eater; an advanced Insecticon capable of speech; a Daemon of the Pit. Even the most reputable surviving sources, such as Vestorian's Glossary, are less than charitable in their depictions of the Great Uniter.
By far the most controversial portion of my writings, however, has been the duel between Sentinel EnN and the Cannibal Baron, a battle so dramatized by Autobots and Decepticons alike that, were it not for the testimonies of a few surviving Coruk tribesbots during the Golden Age and EnN's fellow house member, Sentinel Prime, the entire battle may have been discounted as mere myth. All that is known for certain is that great lights were seen in the night sky, and that the entire city of Doradus disappeared. The rest is brought to us by dubious first-hand accounts from a passing cargo plane, Autobot and Coruk storytelling, and Primal Orthodox religious texts.
It is events like these that blur the lines between history and legend, and cause so much anguish for historians like myself. But, in spite of these limitations, I have used the sources available to me to construct as accurate and captivating a narrative as possible. Furthermore, I would invite the reader to reflect on our more recent history: it was not long ago that the entire Multiverse was torn asunder by great holy wars between Primus and Unicron, or that our world was transformed into a technorganic paradise in a single day. As our own lifetimes have shown, anything can happen in this vast, wild universe; it is pure folly to discredit every tale simply because it is tall.