I'm not sure where to start. I'm not even sure where the beginning is, or if this story even has an end. Hell, I'm not sure of what I know anymore. The world I'm in now isn't the same world I knew as a kid. To be quite frank, I never dreamed I'd end up here, but I'm here now, and all I can do is make the best of an unfortunate situation.

I grew up as a middle child in a large family. The oldest out of 4 boys, the third oldest out of seven children in my family. We were never rich when I was younger. In fact, there were times where it was amazing I had anything to eat at all, even if it was just rice and milk. True story. I never had the nicer clothes or the better education that some of my peers had, and it wasn't until I was older that I could even dare approach anyone in an effort to make friends. As a result, I never made friends easy, and I still don't.

I suppose my childhood doesn't really have much to do with this story. The story really began as I got older. I'm an adult now, with kids of my own. At least, I had kids. God knows if they're still alive or not, or if they're even where I left them.

Lets just start from when I found myself in a place where I didn't belong, but where apparently I was desperately needed. It started on a dark and stormy night... Oh God... what a cliche... but, there it is. I remember going to bed that night in my own bed, in my own house, but when I woke up, my house was gone.

I found myself in the middle of a perfect circle, in the middle of no-where. As I looked around, I saw trees so big and thick around, they reminded me what I imagined the great red oaks in California would look like. The ground was thick with foliage. All types of different kinds of ferns, moss, bushes that had berries and thorns. None of this mattered in the presence of what I at first thought was a unicorn without a horn. This animal, though I later learned was no animal, was one of the most majestic creatures I had ever seen.

Any panic that was starting to build inside of me due to my new and unfamiliar surroundings started to dissipate as this horse started to walk towards me. Then I noticed it's eyes. It's eyes were blue, as blue as a deep sapphire, and as endless as the sky. I remember feeling like this only a few times in my life when I had a religious experience as a child. Was this horse sent from Heaven?

Heaven, no. Haven, yes. I choose you.

My mind went completely blank. There was no way this was happening. I've read about Valdemar and Haven, but those were just books. Meant to entertain and please the readers, it was supposed to be a work of fiction. I'd read about Valdemar's history, but at this point it was almost like I was lost in a bizarre Dr Who episode, or maybe the Twilight Zone.

"You're joking, right? This can't really be happening." I could feel my pulse quicken and my body broke out into a cold sweat. My mind was racing, at least, until it wasn't. I felt like I was falling one moment, then the next, suddenly I felt as if I was being caught, then held. It reminded me of when my dad would hold me after I had a nightmare when I was just a kid.

I'm not joking. You're my Chosen. My name is Mag. I'm your companion. And, if we're going to get back before the next week we need to get going.

Mag stepped up beside me and knelt down on all fours to allow me easy access to his back. I hesitated, but for good reason. I took another look around, hoping to see what I knew was probably lost to me forever. There was no sign of my family. I was alone. Well, with the exception of my new Companion. With Mag there, I knew I'd never be alone again, but it wasn't the same.

"Will I ever see them again?"

Mag seemed to understand my meaning, and I felt his heart break for mine. It was too much. I wept. It was slow at first, but as the tears came, I knew in my heart that I may never see my kids or my wife again.