For every age, there is a time of trial. The rocks stood such great fire before they were the ground beneath our feet. In my many years as a sage, I have known of only one such ordeal. The great legacy of Jak….

The young boy lifted the last piece of the mechanical scrap onto the platform. He used a bare arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Behind him was a huge vehicle, shaped strangely and showing before unseen craftsmanship. The boy had untidy, unkempt blonde hair that streaked upwards and over his head. His jade eyes gleamed with hope, with a kind of power that could not possibly be described.

This mysterious vehicle was the Rift Rider- it was an artefact that the boy had found not two days ago, with the help of his friend Daxter. It was a change for them, finding this thing… he no longer wanted change, as the change over the last month was enough for him.

His eyes showed worry as he recalled the events of the nearby past…. He saw flames, spiralling up towards him, lashing his body and singing his skin. He saw two dark figures, a man and a woman, clawing at him brutally with their fingers. And then his eyes closed as he fully remembered what had happened.

"Foolish boy! You cannot possibly stop Dark Eco! And if you do not understand that, then you shall die trying!"

A fist flew into his stomach, winding him and knocking him backwards onto the floor.

"Jak! Jak, buddy, you gotta get up! You can beat them, I know ya can!"

Without thinking about it, he sprang to his feet, releasing a flurry of kicks into the man's head. He heard a huge crack and a scream. He could see nothing, the darkness surrounded him. He then realised where he was and what was happening…

He was on top of the eco vats on Misty Island, ruthlessly battling with the two eco barons, Gol and Maia. The two had once been great sages of eco, just as his friend Samos was. But they had been tempted by Dark Eco, arguably the most powerful of all Eco Sources. But that was not when Jak came into the story. Jak and Daxter were two ordinary teenagers living in tranquil Sandover Village, with their mentor Samos, sage of green eco and the undeniably beautiful Keira. Jak always felt something for her…but he could never say anything. He never said anything anyway. He didn't need to talk, so he didn't. It was as simple as that. Besides, with a friend like Daxter you couldn't get a word in edgeways. They had decided one day, against Samos's wishes, to go to Misty Island, the home of the evil Lurkers. So they went, and had a look around. But while poking around the Lurker fortress, Jak and Daxter were knocked back into a pool of Dark Eco by two rogue Lurkers. Daxter was totally submerged for a long amount of time, but Jak managed to climb out. Daxter would have drowned if Samos hadn't come along at the last second to pull him out… but he would never been the same. Somehow, the eco had changed him into a weasel otter hybrid- an ottsel. Samos told them they could be changed back if they found Gol, the dark eco sage. And thus, their first adventure began…

But Gol had changed. He and his sister Maia had been changed by the dark eco, and now they were dark to the core. When Jak found Gol, he plunged into a duel with the dark being, with Jak being mercilessly beaten back by the Eco monster. Jak remembered every word Gol had said to him…

"Come on boy! You can do better than this! FIGHT ME!"

Jak yelled in pain as an eco blast singed his face. The rage inside was building up, and he felt something stir inside of him… and then he let loose. Purple streaks of lightning screamed from his skin, his bones cracked as they grew, and his eyes cringed as their pupils widened. With huge claws, he tore into Gol, shredding him into bloody bits as his blood poured onto the floor. Then, Jak remembered no more, until he was found by Keira and Daxter, in his original state. And then they found the door that contained the Rift Rider. They moved it all the way back to their village, and combined it with the rift ring they had also found. As Jak and Keira sat down in the vehicle, this was the moment of truth….

"How do we make this thing work again? And why are we doing it? I could be sipping sweet cold Yakow milk right now, but instead I'm here with the mute and old green stuff!"

Samos shook his head.

"Beyond this gate lies the key to all of the earth's knowledge! The very past and future of this world are behind that rift… I've had experience with such things" he looked towards Jak, who was looking in fear at the ring "I know you can make it work Jak…"

But deep inside, the Sage knew history was only repeating itself. He knew that this was something he had seen before… but he could not remember it. Jak, unknowing of this, pressed an engraved button with precursor markings upon it. Then all hell was let loose. The rift ring sprang into life, emitting a blinding light over the village. Keira screamed as a monstrous shape came from the ring.

"Finally… the last rift gate has been opened!"

Samos whispered as he looked to the monster in fear.

"So this is how it happened…."

They all then screamed as the rift rider sprang towards the gate, taking them to unknown places. The four closed their eyes as the rider fell apart in the void. Jak and Daxter fell away from the rider while Keira and Samos were left on their own

"Jak! Don't let the darkness take you over!"

Then the light blinded Jak and Daxter totally.