Prologue
Darkness hung in every ounce of air the boy could breathe. It filled his lungs, penetrated his soul, and permeated his senses. It loomed over him like a tempest, yet at the same time cowered and remained nameless. The clouds overhead parted enough to let a ray of the moon's light pierce the darkness. That is when the boy became aware of the structure towering before him. A great wall, decorated with insignias and inscriptions that were completely unfamiliar to the young boy. Yet the more he examined them, the more it seemed as if he knew them once but had forgotten them. The soft sound of the rain hitting earth had been continuous, almost soothing, for the last few minutes, but now a new sound broke that softness: the hard clanking of chains. A bolt of lightning gave a brief illumination of more of the wall, and now the boy could see that it was part of a castle wall. The sound of chains resonated from behind the drawbridge which was set in the wall directly in front of him. Slowly it began to creak open. The more it did, the more the boy could begin to hear a new sound. Barely different from the drawbridge at first, but steadily distinguishing itself more and more the closer it got to him. Finally, he realized that it was the sound of hooves on stone. He was unsure of how he knew that the hooves were striking stone, but he was certain they were. Finally the drawbridge sounded loudly against the stone on the side of the gap the boy was on, and the horse was finally visible. At least as close to visible as it could be in the nearly absolute darkness.
The boy could make out the figure of two riders: a smaller sitting in front, and a larger, more athletic form sitting behind him or her, almost as if it was trying to protect the smaller rider. As the horse passed through the beam of moonlight, he saw that the smaller figure was that of a young girl, no older than he, and yet there seemed to be an older presence behind her eyes. Her eyes! Though the boy did indeed get a glimpse of her entire face, he could now remember nothing but the eyes. They were of the deepest blue he could remember seeing. Though her youth concealed her wisdom her eyes betrayed her, for in those eyes the boy could see deep wells of thought. Within those eyes, he sensed both beauty and fear, both majesty and terror. Time had great things planned for her, but only she could see decide if they were for evil or good. The boy could only ponder all these things he saw with just a glance at her eyes. Somehow, when her eyes met his, a connection took place; one he had never felt before.
The boy was quickly jarred from his thoughts as he suddenly became aware of a presence behind him. Before even looking, he knew that whatever it was, was the source of the darkness, the nameless terror that permeated all around him. As he turned and saw the figure, a wave of the most indescribable fear crept through the boy's veins. He trembled from his flesh to his soul at the very sight of this thing, this man, if he could be called that. A man of the largest size the boy had ever seen. Easily clearing seven feet, the man was a giant. His arms looked as though they were soon to burst, his sinews were so mammoth. Though most of his flesh was covered in black armor, what was visible was the most putrid hue of green imaginable. The blackness of his armor spoke of his dark heart, and yet the gold trim gave him a majesty that most kings had difficulties achieving. A large medallion chained to the stranger's forehead and held in place by a metal lock that seemed to protrude from beneath his skin was by far the most noticeable of his facial features. It led right down to his cold, yellow eyes. A lifeless soul, and a ferociously alive terror was hidden behind those eyes. The more the boy stared into them, the more he seemed to be paralyzed with fear. A white aura - not quite a light - seemed to cover the boy's vision as he continued to fix his gaze on the tall stranger's eyes, unable to look away. Finally the whiteness covered his whole field of vision as his eyes began to burn…
