Prologue: A New Beginning
In the space between the pages of a book, trapped in the margins on the side of every page, is an in between. A point that exists between stories, a space between dimensions. From there, one can travel between universes, pass into new planes, interact with new worlds. Some of these worlds are vastly different from our own, some are almost the same, but no two are ever alike. Each one is filled with different choices, where some characters rise to the front and others slip into the shadows, never being seen. Sometimes characters follow similar paths, sometimes they make their own way. Their choices can lead them to victory or defeat, leading mighty heroes to their falls and warped villains to their dreams. Some worlds fall into darkness, some blossom in light. When in these in between spaces, one never really knows what you'll find or where you'll end up, and so they will always be a mystery to all. All, that is to say, but the few who live there. For while this place of in between is not a world, or really even a place in the actual sense of the word, there are still those who are able to inhabit it. They are as much a mystery as the in between where they reside. Little is known of them, and even less is known of where they came from. All that can be said of them is that they are a seemingly immortal race, able to travel between worlds freely. They all appear the same, ghastly women in tattered cloaks. And they all go by the same name, each calling themselves Jury. For they have set themselves up as the jury and judge of the worlds around them, recording and directing the events of the stories. They are the bookkeepers of the worlds, the authors and editors of the stories. For the most part they are content to watch, but on occasion they will interfere with the lives of those they watch over, to try to direct the story to a better end.
It is with one creature such as this that our story begins. She is like all the rest, old and decrepit. She wears a tattered cloak draped over her hunched shoulders. The hood covers the face as she paces around. Then, suddenly, she throws the hood back, revealing her skeletal face, where bone white skin stretches across gaunt features, continuing over a hairless scalp. The face has the appearance of someone who should have died a long time ago, a skeleton walking. But the eyes. Despite their sunken appearance, the eyes gleam out, unmistakeably alive. They burn with knowledge. They are eyes that have seen great men fall, kingdoms collapse, worlds end. And they are filled with fear. For while the Jury wield great power, they, like all beings, fear death. They are nearly immortal, but each is tied to the world they reside over, the story they record. So as long as the story goes on, they will continue as well. But, if the story ends, they fade away disappearing into nothing. Most of the time, by the time they reach the end of a story, the Jury are content to leave. They have seen enough, lived longer than any should, and so they go gently into the night.
But this Jury is different. She had been prepared to let her story end, to fade away. It had been decided that the story would end. But it hadn't. Things were different, things were changing in her world, and she was powerless to stop it. For a lowly human had taken the story into his own hands, kicking her out. And now she wanders aimlessly, with no purpose. As the world she had resided over began to fall apart, so did her mind, leaving only an anger, laced with confusion, and a determination that this must never happen again.
As she walks around in this place of in betweens, her eyes alight on a world. It is so much like the one she had left behind, so much was the same. She came closer, gazing upon it. Through a sort of window in the darkness, she watched the world, studying its past, gazing at the possibilities for its future. She could see her favorite players, the ones who had moved the story she had left behind, and those who had ruined it. As she watched the world, she made a decision. This time, things would be different. This story would be her chance at redemption. She would not this story fall as hers had. But how to save it? She gazed into the world, watching and wondering. Then, she saw a girl. While on the surface she seemed rather ordinary, the Jury saw in her the possibility to regain all she had lost, to save this world. Her story could go up in flames for all she cared. This story, this girl, would be her new beginning.