Riftsworld: Dragon Heart
Prologue:
14 years ago
The Rifts. Tears in time and space that allowed marauding armies of fiendish creatures to pillage the remnants of Earth. Exploited by seemingly invincible beasts to enslave and destroy humanity as we know it. Many lived in fear that a rift would open near their towns. For some, this has already happened. But the rifts also bring gifts as well as curses. Such was the case one night in August, when Arnold Schmidt, a gifted technomancer and mechanic, was working late. He heard a pop, and then a crackling sound. He turned, and jumped backwards in fright, slamming his back into the hovercycle he was working on. A rift had opened right behind him, and a goblin carrying a sack jumped out. It took off running, and was almost instantly brought down by a flying tackle from Arnold. He grabbed the sack from the goblin, and stood up. The goblin got up, took one look at it's attacker, and fled, screaming. Arnold opened the sack, and found a young girl, about three years old, sleeping peacefully. He was stunned. Then, he smiled and laughed. "Finally! Finally I have a child to call my own!" he cried, and ran off to his home, laughing and crying all the way.