PROLOGUE

Tamra was dead. Saavedro was sure of it. In the years since those two brothers had left Narayan, he'd never seen her. This fact served only to make him more determined to carry out his plan--when he had one. He was angry enough at that accursed family. Now he was more so.

Years ago, they had come. Those two brothers, Atrus' sons-Sirrus and Achenar. Saavedro's body seemed to clench up with fury and sadness when he thought of them. He could easily remember when it all started. Their father, Atrus, had come and met him, and later sent his sons to Narayan. Then, they were just two clever, curious boys, sons of a scholar. Their first visit passed uneventfully, and they left Narayan, not coming back for several years. When they did return, a world of change had been wrought in them. No longer were they small, clever pupils, but brilliant, powerful young adults, and as soon as they returned, Saavedro knew they would cause problems.

And they did. The brothers took advantage of the natural rebelliousness that dwells in all youths, including those of Narayan. They showed the young men and women Ages (those incredible worlds that the brothers could seemingly create and rule) in which life was much easier than that of their own home.

This information, in the now angered minds of the youths, had soon served to throw Narayan into what would eventually become warfare. Sirrus and Achenar, for their part, only encouraged the fighting, and used the confusion that was reigning because of it to usurp Narayan as much as they could, stealing from it knowledge, riches, sometimes even its people.

In the midst of all this, Saavedro's wife, Tamra, had disappeared, along with their two children. Whenever he thought of them, he felt the now familiar twinge of fury and remorse. They'd been gone so long now that Saavedro was certain they were dead.

And soon after his family had disappeared, Sirrus and Achenar had, too. Or it seemed that way. But, actually, Saavedro was able to follow them when they "disappeared" by linking to where they'd come from in the first place, an Age called J'Nanin. Unfortunately for him, the Age was small, and the brothers soon discovered him. When they did, they tied him up and linked out of the Age, leaving him marooned on J'Nanin, with access only to three small, unpopulated island Ages. For years, Saavedro was exiled there.

Then, one day, Atrus had appeared again. Unlike his sons, however, he was unaware of Saavedro's presence on J'Nanin, and did not see him. Also unlike his sons, when he linked out of the Age, he left the Linking Book used for the purpose on J'Nanin. And Saavedro had just found it.

He was standing in a room that had once served as Atrus' study on the Age, but had since been adopted by Saavedro for his own purposes. On a table lay a green, leather-bound book. Saavedro turned the book over, and read the single word scrawled across its cover:

TOMAHNA

Saavedro, feeling feverish with excitement at his discovery, wrenched the book open to its first page. No words were written on it, but a large panel, like a screen, glowed in the center of the page. The panel was displaying a desert world, with towers of sandstone. The scene wouldn't have looked very inviting, but a large structure resembling a greenhouse, over which crawled vines and flowers, changed the whole mood of the place. Saavedro grinned. This was, apparently, Atrus' home.

Saavedro was already developing a plan in his quick mind. Atrus, he knew from his sons, wrote like there was nothing else worth doing in life. Every aspect of his work, and much of his life, was recorded in journals. Since Tomahna was his home, Saavedro was certain he'd find Atrus' journals there. His plan was to link there, find his journals, and read them. From them he planned to learn Atrus' loves, hates, fears and concerns. Using this knowledge, he would get revenge on the family that had destroyed Narayan.

Looking back down at the linking panel as he developed this plan, he observed that the sky around the Age was beginning to turn orange. Sunset was coming, and night would follow, as it had a tendency to. Saavedro decided to wait a few more hours, until night had come and the house would be asleep. Then, he would link to Tomahna.