Prelude.
Shift...
Natael began his tale, "There are ages and there are ages. The serpent turns just the same. Consider this but a fiction Al' Thor, a tale to be told around campfires in the dark of night. This tale is old, it was ancient when the Age of Legends was young. The Dark One would strike me dead, if he knew that I knew this yarn-for it concerns him as well as you. As I suspect I not live much longer, it makes no difference."
Rand shrugged, "Hanging on the edge of a cliff...?" The gleeman returned the shrug, "Indeed I hang on the edge, and now if you will permit me to channel but a bit of the power."
Rand gripped the hilt of Callandor, "Agreed. But I warn you Natael..." The threat remained unspoken. Natael, or Asmodean, cleared his throat. Apparently he was nervous.
"There was once an age, an age where hardship had been largely banished, and great ships of metal roamed the earth and sky. There were no Shadowspawn, and the One Power had not yet touched the world. It was an age of great virtue and vice. There were men whose atrocities remain unsurpassed to this day; and there were men and women who opposed them. All was well, and man in his hubris forgot the Dark One, dismissing him as no more than a story concocted to frighten the masses."
Rand frowned. How could anyone forget that Shai'tan existed? "No one knows why it happened, but one fateful day the world was bathed in fire. Multitudes perished at the hand of madmen who wielded weapons capable of annihilating a nation in a matter of minutes and poisoning the ground for generations. Into this ravaged world, the Dark One came. The thing that haunted their nightmares now walked the land. Around him he gathered men. Humans were always more capable of evil then anything the Dark One could craft-this is the reason for Darkfriends. The Dark One loves to twist and pervert things, and twisting humans was easy. At this point the Creator intervened, or so it is rumored."
"What did the Creator do?" "The Creator could not enter his creation, no. Rather he gave humanity the One Power, and a man was chosen to lead the people against the Dark one. This man was the first Dragon.
In a massive battle, he fought the Dark One and sealed him away-for as long as the Wheel turns, or so he hoped. This first prison was perfect-and would have held. But again, time and prosperity caused them to forget the Dark One-making the same error yet again..."
Asmodean paused, "The rest as they say, is history. As long as the Dark One strives to break the wheel, so shall the Dragon work to preserve it. World and time without end." Rand rewove the shield around Asmodean and quietly walked out of the room, Callandor in hand.
Shift...
Natael began his tale, "There are ages and there are ages. The serpent turns just the same. Consider this but a fiction Al' Thor, a tale to be told around campfires in the dark of night. This tale is old, it was ancient when the Age of Legends was young. The Dark One would strike me dead, if he knew that I knew this yarn-for it concerns him as well as you. As I suspect I not live much longer, it makes no difference."
Rand shrugged, "Hanging on the edge of a cliff...?" The gleeman returned the shrug, "Indeed I hang on the edge, and now if you will permit me to channel but a bit of the power."
Rand gripped the hilt of Callandor, "Agreed. But I warn you Natael..." The threat remained unspoken. Natael, or Asmodean, cleared his throat. Apparently he was nervous.
"There was once an age, an age where hardship had been largely banished, and great ships of metal roamed the earth and sky. There were no Shadowspawn, and the One Power had not yet touched the world. It was an age of great virtue and vice. There were men whose atrocities remain unsurpassed to this day; and there were men and women who opposed them. All was well, and man in his hubris forgot the Dark One, dismissing him as no more than a story concocted to frighten the masses."
Rand frowned. How could anyone forget that Shai'tan existed? "No one knows why it happened, but one fateful day the world was bathed in fire. Multitudes perished at the hand of madmen who wielded weapons capable of annihilating a nation in a matter of minutes and poisoning the ground for generations. Into this ravaged world, the Dark One came. The thing that haunted their nightmares now walked the land. Around him he gathered men. Humans were always more capable of evil then anything the Dark One could craft-this is the reason for Darkfriends. The Dark One loves to twist and pervert things, and twisting humans was easy. At this point the Creator intervened, or so it is rumored."
"What did the Creator do?" "The Creator could not enter his creation, no. Rather he gave humanity the One Power, and a man was chosen to lead the people against the Dark one. This man was the first Dragon.
In a massive battle, he fought the Dark One and sealed him away-for as long as the Wheel turns, or so he hoped. This first prison was perfect-and would have held. But again, time and prosperity caused them to forget the Dark One-making the same error yet again..."
Asmodean paused, "The rest as they say, is history. As long as the Dark One strives to break the wheel, so shall the Dragon work to preserve it. World and time without end." Rand rewove the shield around Asmodean and quietly walked out of the room, Callandor in hand.