Prelude
By Untwisted

Reprinted with permission.
Added 07/24/2002.

Many years ago, Lugian prophecy told of a hero to possess great power, in the form of six gems. This hero would control the elements, and eventually lead people from their cavernous homes back on to Dereth, back in to the open air. This hero was also known among the Tumeroks, who sang great songs, and wove melodies in prayer to their gods, that this hero would soon arise.

The humans though, being simple people, had no interest in prophecies or religion. They led simple lives, and favored science over magic. Oddly enough though a child was born, who was as agile as a cat, and had the speed of a viper. The child had a fascination with fire, and loved to play in the water. As he grew, the child longed to breathe the free open air, he longed to leave his cavernous home.

By age seventeen the boy had decided; he was to go where few before him had gone. A place where no one had returned from, a place where he belonged -- the open.

Working his way through the labyrinth of tunnels and passages, the boy found the lair of creatures unknown to him. Working his way farther down the passage the boy found a group of ugly, horrible creatures passed out upon the floor. One of the beasts began to stir, and the boy turned to run. Full sprint now, the boy wove from passage to passage, eventually losing himself in the maze of tunnels.

Stopping to catch his breath the boy felt something alien to him -- a fresh scent passed over his nose, and a gentle breeze caressed his face. This was nothing like the currents of stale air that they got below ground, he knew at once he must be near a way to freedom.

And then he saw it, a gaping hole not fifty paces from him. It was night on the other side of the hole, making it all the harder to see. As he got closer, the boy saw great expanses of sky before him, filled with pinpoints of light. "These must be stars," he said to himself as he passed nervously through the hole.

This boy, who was later learned to be named Dajyrad would one day fulfill the prophecy of the Lugians and Tumeroks, but for now he was still young. There were many adventures to be had, and friends to be made before he could fulfill the prophecy.