The theatre hall was full. Yes, children and their parents tend to visit performances from time to time, because at Saturday evening you just want to watch something new... The curtain hadn't been raised yet, but some particularly nosy (or "eary" in this case) heard something moving behind it. Perhaps something heavy was pulled across the floor...
The hall went dark, leaving only the scene lighted with pleasant not too bright light. And it began.
A youngster wearing a tuxedo and a black-and-indigo domino mask approached to the center of the stage from behind the curtain.
"Mama, is that a girl or a boy?" one of the girls in the hall asked her mother. A reasonable question - perhaps because most of the adults in here had no idea about this too, but no one wanted to ask it aloud, unlike the kids. However, it was answered very soon.
"Once upon a time there lived a boy", the tuxedo-wearing girl began. Now, when everyone heard the intonations of her voice, there was no doubting about her gender. "He wasn't a superhero. He wasn't a chosen one, and he wasn't the one whose future was clear. But today our story is going to tell about him. Why?" The narrator gave a small lop-sided grin. "You will see. And now let me lead you to the planet where everything started".
The curtain slowly opened, revealing the upcoming action behind. It was a landscape of some unknown world, but not Earth - where can you find orange skies on Earth? The impression was strengthened by the people on the scene - all dressed in similar red cloaks with large rough collars, but some of them were dressed simpler, while others had embroidery or some other patterns on the clothing edges. That was on the right side of the stage, and from the left two more were approaching: one more man in such robe, with unruly dark hair (some attentive parents suspected that he could be the narrator's relative - this hair, if let grow longer, would probably change into wavy curls, like those which framed the narrator's face, and their seen face lines were obviously of the same family) and a small blond boy dressed in some kind of uniform of the same scarlet color: pants tucked in short black boots, a shirt with wide golden belt over it and short orange gloves.
"Don't worry. You are going to pass it", the man told the boy.
"What if I fail, father?" the boy said, his voice very small.
"Look at me. I did it, and everybody did it. Come on, you should go on alone... Think about something pleasant. Remember how we watched the meteor rain?"
"Yes", the boy nodded.
"Then go. Find Koschei".
"And - yes", the narrator, who was now standing at the right end of the stage, went on. "Koschei and the boy whom everybody later called Theta Sigma were best friends ever. And today both of them had to pass a ritual, after which they were to begin their studying. It wasn't like any of our exams, it was most unusual".
The background image changed to the one of some kind of vortex. Blue and red and white, sometimes breaking to crimson and flaming orange, or maybe sunset clouds forming a tunnel...