You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You've moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas, a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast a space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears, and the summit of his knowledge. You've just crossed over, this is the dimension of imagination.

Prologue

Dais ran a hand through his hair, scowling in frustration at the ceiling above him. He was having trouble sleeping and not for the first time lately. It seemed like every time he went to go to bed and get some rest, his body was tired but his mind would not shut up. With this being the case, he found himself counting, again and again, how many boards composed his ceiling and speculating on the boring life he currently had.

He had begun to feel that it was this all pervading boredom that prevented him from getting any proper sleep. Having lived and breathed battle for so long, this 'peace' he found himself a part of served only to annoy him. Not that he let his comrades enjoy it so much. No, Dais had plenty of pranks he played on them using his illusions to drive people into spasms all just to break the monotony of their days.

It probably didn't help him that he didn't take naturally to other people. His friendship with Cale was tenuous at best and more often than not, highly competitive. Taking advantage of this, Dais took to using his powers to pop out of no where or hang around when no one was aware of him just for the fun of it. The more he did this though, the more he realized he needed a real hobby. He hadn't needed Kayura to point it out, which she had, emphatically.

More often then not, when Dais pulled one of his infamous stunts over on Cale, the normally quiet warlord would go into a rage like no one's business. This only served to entertain the Warlord of Illusion more. Being what he was, evading the Warlord of Darkness was something of a sport to him.

As an assassin by training, Dais had even tried that venue to break the dullness of his life but the hits he'd been offered were few and far between. There were several marked differenced between the world he'd grown up in and the world in which he now lived, the price of a man's head one of them. The hits were normally ridiculously easy and paid very little, to boot. If nothing else, it gave him an excuse for the occasional jaunt into the human world and he used them for that.

On this night he weighed the chances that he could get out of the palace to sneak into the mortal realm without Kayura noticing. They were very slim, of course, it seemed like even the always clever and resourceful Rajura couldn't pull the wool over that girl's eyes. It annoyed him to a certain extent but it also proved to be a challenge he looked forward to overcoming. Being able to thumb his nose at Kayura appealed to him and with this thought in mind, he sat up.

He yawned and stretched, pushing his unruly white hair out of his face. Reaching over, he plucked up his eye patch from nearby and slipped it on over his right eye. After making sure that his hair didn't interfere with how it was sitting, he stood up and padded to his closet. He pulled on the first article of clothing that he saw, not really caring what it was or how he looked. His illusions would conceal it once in the mortal realm any way. Finished dressing, he turned to head to his door.

His attempted midnight escapade was cut short when a sudden, sharp and painful clanging noise reverberated through the palace. Dais clamped his hands over his ears, grimacing as his eardrums would never be the same. 'That damn staff,' he thought, eye twitching. 'What is its problem now?' Not caring who heard him at this point, he wrenched open his door and moved quickly down the halls.

Cale, too, had been jerked from his own restless thoughts at the obnoxious chiming of the staff, his eyes scrunching closed as the peace and quiet of the night was shattered. Though he was by all appearances not nocturnal, he did nonetheless spend a great deal of time awake at night just enjoying the dark and silence of the palace. He growled as he sat up, wondering what on earth Kayura was doing at this hour of the morning. He'd have to give her a lesson on what time a prepubescent girl should be in bed, he thought as he stood up and stormed out of his room.

Sekhmet was the only one of the warlords present who had actually been asleep when the noise had begun. Needless to say, the man was none too pleased to have his rest interrupted by the stupid temperamental piece of museum decoration. Standing up, he dressed himself and without thinking, grabbed a sword and ran out to find out what all of the fuss was about.

Kayura, of all of them, had the rudest awakening. She had been sound asleep, content and comfortable – and dreaming. The important thing to remember about the girl is, just because she had a twelve year old's body didn't mean the girl had a twelve year old's mind. The contents of her dream, well, that was open to debate. Her face held a very happy smile and she was hugging her pillow awfully close. The only real clue to that might have been when she murmured under her breath, "Aw, Rowen you're so cute."

This came to a violent end as the staff, having been leaning in the corner quite securely, suddenly was flung down to the floor, the rings clashing and clanging. Kayura awoke with such a start that she instinctively chucked her pillow in the direction of the noise. She blinked as she realized it was the staff and rolled her eyes. Something always happened to interrupt the good dreams, it felt like.

Her ears were still ringing even after it had stopped and grumbling, she threw back her covers and got up to pick up the damn thing. She grabbed the staff in one hand and her pillow in the other, just as her doors were slammed open with maelstrom force. She gave a shriek of astonishment and before the half asleep girl even took the time to assess who it was, she hurled her pillow like a projectile.

Cale caught the pillow, raising an eyebrow at her choice of weapon. It suddenly dawned on the Lady Ancient who she'd just inadvertently attacked with her bedding and she stood a bit awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.

"Very threatening, Kay," Cale said dryly as he tossed it aside negligently.

She glowered and waved her staff ominously. "I'll show you threatening," she promised.

"About that," Dais interrupted smoothly, before the two could get into another one of their 'married couple' fights, "What's the big idea, sending that horrible noise through the palace at this hour?"

"I didn't do it," she said indignantly. "I was asleep." Suddenly, something else seemed to occur to her and she gave a squeak of embarrassment at the three men in her doorway when she was wearing only her nightgown. "Get out of my room!" she said, jabbing the butt of her staff at them.

Sekhmet seemed to realize what had her upset and he snorted, "Relax, none of us are pedophiles. Or I'm not, at least. Young girls don't do it for me."

"Says you," snorted Cale. "I've never been too sure about you." He paused and said, "Sekhmet… why do you have your sword?"

"Ah…." Sekhmet looked a little embarrassed. "Habit?" he offered.

Cale snorted. "You probably sleep with it," he said. "You need a woman, badly."

Kayura's red face went back to its normal color as she gave them all an evil look. This wasn't conversation she was interested in hearing. "Get out of my room!"

Cale might have gone, but Dais had other ideas, paying the other two little mind. Something about this sudden occurrence bothered him, or maybe he was just hoping for excitement. "What made your staff do that, if you were asleep?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, this thing has a mind of its own." She paused and looked at it. "And that isn't a very settling thought at all."

"What do you think it was?" Cale asked, now looking alert.

Kayura was quiet for a few moments and then murmured, "It's a warning."