Prologue

“Wherever there is light, there will always be darkness.”

Many years after the Great Dragon attacked and Elemency was revealed to the human race, a great Empire started to take root on Tarrus during the process of rebuilding. Unfortunately, many humans distrusted their alien neighbors for their part in the destruction. This resulted in prejudice and hatred from all sides. Spawning from this racism came the Dark Races, an alliance of hostile alien factions bent on the destruction of the humans for crimes rendered against nonhumans. Although, beginning as a peaceful enterprise, the Dark Races were soon perverted into something far more sinister. A supernatural force known as the Shadow Realm, along with its fanatical zealots known as Mages, took control of the Dark Races in secret, manipulating them for the sole purpose of destroying all life in the universe.

And thus, the ancient war for dominance began and two orders were formed. The Monastery of Light, representing Tarrus and the various alien groups allied with the Elementals, and the Order of the Shadow, representing the disgruntled alien races as well as the Mystics who had fallen from the true path of Elemency thanks to Mage doctrine.

Adding to the chaos came the introduction of four newcomers - beings of supernatural origins who called themselves the Caretaker’s Heralds. These Four Heralds would soon become known throughout the universe as the Fallen Ones. No matter how repugnant these creatures may seem today, it is important to note that it was not always so. In actuality, in terms of fairness and grace, the four had no equal. They were forerunners of an ancient, spiritual kingdom that goes back to the very heart of Elemency. The Four Heralds - first of their kind to enter our universe. Strange in ways, fair in face, but most of all, fierce in battle - these four beings were initially summoned by the Monks who served the Light to be used as acolytes in the great wars. It was the duty of these Four Heralds to safeguard the secrets of the Monastery as well as see to the wellbeing of all the Elementals and their peoples.

However, one day in service to the Tarrus Empire, these four acolytes ran amuck after discovering a certain text called the Grave Tome which the Mages and Mystics went to great lengths to conceal. The contents of this text are unknown, and the book itself has been accounted as myth. All that is known is that from that day on, the Four Heralds of the Caretaker who once protected life now became heralds of destruction. Wherever they ventured, chaos soon followed in their wake. They became an image of terror on both sides of the war, eventually selling their allegiance to the Dark Dragon Lords themselves, the all-powerful leaders of the Dark Races.

But their betrayal was not without consequence. A terrible curse was placed upon the former Light Wraiths by the Lord Caretaker, a curse that robbed them of their names and faces, rendering them as little more than vicious beasts acting on instinct. After the Dark Races were defeated, the Fallen Ones went into hiding and had not been heard from since. Now they have returned more powerful than ever, and infinitely more dangerous. I am not entirely sure what their goals consist of, only that they now journey across the stars in search of something precious ... a nameless obsession that encumbers all their intellect. And now, that obsession somehow involves my three future protégés. Possessing both beast-like cunning and mysterious power that not even Elemency can fully explain, these creatures are a force to be reckoned with. I pray for my young ones. I pray for them fervently.