CHAPTER ONE

The ceiling high above Regalian shuddered, raining down dust and debris upon the Regalians below.

A young human, one who like Nerissa and Bartholomew of old had the gift of visions, looked up in wonder. His name was Gregor, after the great Overland warrior from centuries past.

A single sentence escaped his breathless lips.

"It is time."

Explosions rattled the rattled the ancient apartment building. Clive's family huddled by the air vent in the basement praying that the bombs would miss them. Ten other families were also huddled together, having the same prayer. Everyone who was capable of doing so had fled New York weeks earlier, hoping to reach somewhere that would not be attacked.

Another bomb exploded this one closer before. Clive looked up, his green eyes wide with fear.

The war had started when Clive was just an infant, now in his early teens, he and his younger sister, Jessica, had known nothing but war. Every night for the past month, they hid in their basement for fear that bombs might be dropped.

Unnoticed by anyone in the basement, the air vent was letting out a wispy mist. Not that it would have bothered anyone. This had been a semi-regular occurrence for as long as anyone could remember.

A bomb exploded, no more than a block away. Its explosion threatened to bring the roof down upon their heads.

When the building finally stopped shaking, the grate over the vent clanged to the ground, its rusty hinges finally giving up the battle against gravity. The noise made everyone jump. It was then that Clive made a decision. "I'm going to see where that takes me. You can follow me if you want to."

His father, Joe, pleaded for him to reconsider. "Please, I've already lost one son to this war; I don't want to lose another."

"Dad, if we stay here, you'll lose a lot more than just a son. You'll lose everything, maybe even your own life. If I'm going to die today, I want to do so on my own terms."

Everyone agreed that his ideas were sound, and soon everyone had entered the hole. Only to find themselves falling down in a great tunnel.