A/N: This is/was the prologue to EC's sequel, 10 Years After (song titles yet again - it's really only been about 6 months). I'm having such a hard time deciding what I want to do with it though, I'm not sure I'll end up using this, so into the bits and pieces it goes.
The world was created in a contest among the gods to see which was most powerful. Horus created the planet, the moons, and the stars, and Isis breathed life into the world, pulling at the ground to form mountains, digging crevices to form canyons and rivers, and mixing together earth and water to create plant life. Sekhmet in turn used her power to place animals and insects among the trees and in the seas and also placed her greatest creation, humans, on the land to govern the lesser creatures -- those not gifted with the intelligence she granted the humans. Isis, impressed with Sekhmet's achievement, granted her fellow goddess' children with magic to aid them in the harsh world and to protect themselves against the more vicious creatures.
Anubis, seeing his opportunity to surpass Sekhmet, gathered four humans together and granted them intelligence surpassing even their fellow humans -- the gift of technology. Thus created, the Scions grouped together to invent tools with which to aid those not gifted with their ability, creating sturdier plows for farms, tools for shearing sheep, and better methods of protection from harsh winds and rain during the stormy seasons, particularly by the sea. Soon after, the Scions congregated and agreed to collaborate on the creation of another species of creature, one which would also aid the other humans but would be able to withstand hardships and attacks of nature which frail humans could not.
Thus, the first robot was created, and after him, many more. The Scions granted them souls so they would be able to think for themselves and make proper judgements based on many different circumstances. These strange, metallic creatures lived amongst the humans in peace for decades before a tragedy disturbed the balance of power.
Sekhmet, enraged for nearly a century at Anubis' meddling with her creations, attacked the Fourth Scion, tainting his mind and setting the stage for what would then on be known as the War of the Scions.
The insanity induced by magic which warped the Scion's mind soon spread outward, tainting his creations as well as the other Scions'. They began to lust for blood and first attacked each other, staining the ground red and black before they realized humans were much easier to kill. Unable to run fast enough to escape nor fight for their lives, humans fell by the hundreds, becoming food for the mad robots which bathed in the blood spilled by their claws, and their Soulgivers could not destroy them fast enough. The cycle of death continued before the only robot which escaped the insanity finally stepped forward to put a stop to the war.
The First, the only one still sane, leapt into the battle to protect the defenseless humans. He fought hand-to-claw against the mad ones, defeating them one at a time either by killing them himself or by holding them still long enough for one of the other three Scions to destroy its soul and free it from its mental turmoil. The humans gave him the title of Peacekeeper as he continued to fight for them for nearly a year before the insanity finally claimed him as well.
Finally, Anubis stepped in to right Sekhmet's wrongdoing. He gathered all of the tainted robots and humans including the eternally insane Fourth Scion and sealed them all onto an island near the center of the Inner Sea. A barrier kept them inside where he left them to recover on their own or kill each other until only one remained -- whichever came first. The remaining three Scions set about rebuilding everything which was destroyed during the war, gathering Healers from throughout the world to aid those still suffering.
Nearly thirty thousand years passed, and most of the world's inhabitants forgot about the existence of the Forbidden Island, and even fewer remember why it was isolated from the rest of the world. Only history books and legends remain--
---
Centaur scowled as he slammed the book shut, sending forth a cloud of dust which made both of his cats sneeze and jolt awake from the nap they were enjoying in his lap. He reached down idly to give them both an ear rub as he glared out of the window which pointed north. There was an autumn fog on the sea, and it had seeped into the port side of Khana. It misted his windows, but the sea was still partially visible.
After a moment, he tossed the book onto his desk with a disgusted snort. I don't know why I keep reading that, he growled to himself. It always pisses me off... The nudge of a cold, wet nose against his right arm told him he needed to stop staring out the window. He had work to do and not much time left to do it. "Alright, up," he told the disappointed felines in his lap and stood when they had both finished stretching and yawning and acting as if it was their idea to leave. His schnauzer began hopping on her back legs, hoping it was her turn to be held now. Centaur just looked down at her for a moment before he decided to humor her for a few minutes and carried her to the next room where he had begun packing.
"I need to travel light...there's no telling what'll happen," he muttered to himself as he set the dog down on his bed where she promptly began bouncing again and ultimately fell off the edge. "It's a good thing I've got some really understanding neighbors." He shook his head and glanced at a small table where he had begun writing a note. That needed to be sent before he did anything else. He quickly finished writing it and left his house to deliver it to Khana's messenger service which would send the note by hawk to its destination. Hawks were more expensive than pigeons which were the usual messenger birds, but it was faster, and the message needed to be delivered as soon as possible.
I'm going to need backup, he sighed inwardly as he started back home to finish packing. Just in case...