Disclaimer: I do not own ROTG, it rightfully belongs to DreamWorks ect. I only own the plot, and the places/characters/objects I have created.

First things first - I'd like to point out that none of the characters in this story are based on real people.

I'd also like to point out that, since I am doing my A levels, updates will not be as regular as I'd like.

I should probably also point out that I have never read the Guardians of Childhood books - I have only seen the ROTG movie. This story is my own take on the history of the world and how the Guardians came to be, though I should also point out that throughout the story I will be focusing on the OC Nocturne.

This story is set in the same universe as my story 'Friend or Foe' - Nocturne, Daniel, Sam ect are OCs in said story - but you don't need to have read FoF to understand or enjoy this story. Whether or not you read FoF is up to you - it mentions aspects of this story, so you may find it a bit spoilery, but it shouldn't be too bad, since it doesn't focus around the main characters of this story.

For those of you who have read FoF, this story tells the story of how Nocturne and Daniel grew up (starting from 9 years old), how they were involved with the Guardians (who at this point are still mortal), how Pitch originally rose to power and was eventually defeated ect ect.

This story is named after a song that I think illustrates the transition from mortality to immortality (another thing that'll play a key role in this story)... The song is 'The End Is Where We Begin' (surprise, surprise) by Thousand Foot Krutch, and a link to it can be found either on my profile or at the bottom of this page. (Just so you know, this story was originally titled 'Lost in Paradise')

This first chapter is a prologue - it's basically setting the scene for the story by giving you some knowledge of events prior to the story. The actual story will start in the second chapter - in which the main characters will be introduced.

Chapter 1 - Prologue

No one's POV

The Golden Age.

A thousand years of happiness in our world. A thousand years of wonder and magic, of love and generosity, of good things.

A time of peace and prosperity, a time when evil always lost and was vanquished, a time when everyone was happy.

It began in the year we know now as 11,000 BCE, when the great king Jerod of the city Rowan secured a peaceful alliance between all the kingdoms of the land. It remained for a long time after he, and all the other kings of his time, were gone.

But it could not last forever.

We, the people of the world, should have seen it coming. We should have seen, in those last two hundred years, that things were falling apart. But we were blind - blind to the things happening around us, believing the hardships to be a passing season that would soon be over.

But we were wrong. Things were collapsing around us - corrupt rulers were placed on the kingdoms' thrones, dangerous criminals roamed the lands, and people became less kind. Food and money became an issue for many, and many began to be afraid of the world. Yet we turned a blind eye, and pretended not to know what was happening.

But the Earth was not so blind. And so the Earth took action.

One-hundred-and-fifty years before the end, it created a man of great power. An unseen man, a man with no name, a man who would live forever. A man who lived among the stars and watched over the world, and would one day choose people to become immortal, like him, to protect the world from evil.

But this day did not come to pass during the Golden Age, and it did not come to pass until many years after it ended, for this man, who became known as the Man in the Moon, did not understand his own power. And so, the people did not know he was there, watching over them. And their fear of the world grew.

From this fear, another man was formed. It was nine years before the end of the Golden Age, and the creation of this man sealed the fate of the Golden Age - his creation ensured its end, and ensured that the world could never be the same again.

This man, if you could call him a man, would be known by many names. But his true name, the name he has had since his first day on this world, is one that everyone has heard - whether they know of him, or whether they are simply describing a darkness around them.

Pitch Black.

He ended the Golden Age, and brought about the Dark Ages - a period of time in which the world lived in fear of him. Any mortal who stood against him was killed - it seemed that no one could stop him. Even the Man in the Moon could not beat him in a fight - when he tried, he barely escaped with his life.

It would take heroes, warriors of great power, to take Pitch down.

And this world had none.

I know this is short - sorry about that - but the future chapters will be a lot longer. In FoF, I tend to average at about 3000 words per chapter (though it does vary a little - it has been as low as 1000 and as high as 9000), so hopefully this will be similar.

Please review and tell me what you think so far - also, as a matter of curiosity, please could you tell me if you've read FoF, are planning on reading it, or are not planning on reading it at all.

Here is the link to 'The End Is Where We Begin' by Thousand Foot Krutch. Type the YouTube address into the address bar, then copy and paste the following after it.

'The End Is Where We Begin' by Thousand Foot Krutch:
/watch?v=j3NGSKXs7kg

Till next time!

MS