Prologue

The sun danced across the open sky, its soft golden rays falling upon the trees and animals in the forest; it was a day of peace and happiness for all. The birds sang their hearts out, the deer ate till their stomachs were full and the flowers seemed to burst into your face in vibrant colors of beauty. To anyone who happened to walk by the forest it would have seemed that they had walked into an angel's garden, but there was one soul who thought of it only as hell for it had never been allowed the pleasure of walking through the trees, of smelling the fresh flowers on the light breeze that blessed the grove of trees. This wretched creature was not allowed to even see the sun through its cage, at least not without the severest punishment.

The creature wasn't human, peopled called it a demon but it was not that either, it was a hybrid, a combination of the two. It was something that no one would ever except for it was a disgrace to both races and it could never belong to either of them. It was a sad existence, one many people would cringe at, but the creature was lucky to even have that, after all every creature alive shunned and hated it. Even though this wretched soul was lucky to have this life, it hated it, detested it and most of all wished for it to end. Every night he would cry and wish upon the moon that he knew was outside, even though he couldn't see it, and when he wished he would give a small portion of his soul into it, hoping against hope that it would come true. When this was done, he would settle back, trying to get as comfortable as he could with the chains wrapped around his ankles, and sleep.

On one of these nights, when the stars twinkled merrily and the moon shone blue, his wish came true, but it was not as he thought it would be.

You see the gods are strange beings, at times they will ignore your prayers and laugh at the crying people who want a miracle to happen, while at other times they look upon the world with caring eyes and help those who need it. Now the gods, when they created the worlds, put into being a scale, a balance if you will, one that, if tipped or turned the wrong way, could lead to disaster. The gods themselves could not touch this scale, lest they destroy everything they wrought, so they ask for the assistance of another being, one that very few knew about, and even fewer knew. He is thought to be the first of the races, the creator of them, the 'Father', no one knew for certain, but they knew he was as strong as the gods, if not stronger. Be that as it may, the gods would call upon him for a favor to be done in the worlds of mortals, one that they could not do for fear of destroying their creations, and this is what they did.

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A strange sight greeted the Father as he walked through the forest, in front of him stood a great arch, this was not what was odd about it, the purple fire that danced in the braziers upon the top of the arch was what caught his attention. He then noticed the slips of paper that held symbols to keep demons and monsters away, scattered across the poles of the arch in a pitiful attempt to keep away the monster that was imprisoned beyond the arch. He looked at them and shook his head, with that he walked under the arch, and as he did so a breeze picked up, ripping the papers off the arch and carrying them to some far away land.

Stopping in front of the creatures' cell the father bent down. Looking at the only opening in the container, a very small hole in the wall for shoving a bowl of food in, he whispered to the child he knew slept within.

"…Child…what has been done to you is not right; I am here to free you…"

Hearing this, the boy opened his eyes, hoping against hope that it wasn't another of his twisted nightmares. Crawling over to the food hole he whispered to his rescuer; "W-who's there?" His voice stuttered, showing his fear of what the answer might be.

"…One who wishes to help you, child, I have come to take you away from here. Take you to a better place, one that should make you happy…"

A smile graced the child's lips as he bent closer to the hole, all the while thinking of what place this person could be speaking of.

"H-how do I… er… we get there?" The child was curious; after all he was stuck in a stone cube with only one opening, one that a kitten could just only get through.

"…Like this…" and without a sound, the food hole grew to the size of a door, and the child's savior could be seen. He was a tall figure, cloaked in the strangest clothe, a cloak that seemed to fade and blend with the sky and ground all at once. Though the clothes were not what caught the child's attention, it was the face; one of pure light, and the darkest shade. Within that face of wisdom and power there were the eyes, eyes of a god, of a demon, of an angel, and those of a man, all blended to one. His gaze could not be held, for where any to look into the eyes, they would be lost forever in those pools of eternal time.

As the child's gaze met that of the Father's, he smiled, showing the boy he meant no harm; and as he did this he extended his hand and whispered: "…Come child, it is time to leave…"

The child took the hand, and was pulled to his feet, and lifted into a new world. He stood there, looking at the strange place, it was something he had only seen in his dreams; the forest. As he stood there, gazing upon the place he had longed to see, tears began to stream down his face, he was out, he was outside, a place he had known would be forever out of his reach. He fell to his knees and wept, he was free, he was finally free, and for the first time in his life, he was happy, truly and utterly happy, and it could never be taken from him, ever.

"…Child, is this, what you want, what you truly want? For if it is not then you must go back…"the voice whispered from the shadows, "…and if you go back, then will never get a second chance…"

The child jumped, his savior, he had nearly forgotten him.

"I-I y-yes sir, t-this is what I want, I want to be free, not to be stuck, stuck in that cage. I feel like I belong here, in these woods, this place where the wind blows between the branches, and where the animals live with one another. I-I am sure that this is where I belong, here and only here."

"…Child… this place is not a true paradise, for none truly exist, and this world I am to put you in may be worse than the one you have just come from, or it may be better. In all honesty child, I do not really know, but I do hope that you have made the right decision in doing this, for your sake, and that of the worlds'. Good-bye for now child, we may meet again, and I have a strong feeling that you shall play a part in something much larger than even the gods envisioned…"

"Thank you sir and g-good-bye"

With those words the two creatures, one just stepping outside for the first time, and the other, watching as a story unfolded in front of his eyes, wanting it to be a happy one, went their separate ways.