The grand dome at the center of the Ruby Palace never held any torch or lantern. Not a single window or portal could be seen in its walls, nor any electrical circuit of any kind. Yet the brilliant light of flame touched every part of the chamber, illuminating even the highest parts of the gray stone walls. The source of this light was the sphere at the center of the room, a palm-sized crystal placed in the up-reaching hand of a statue of a woman. It was the Ruby Crystal, a truer red than any fire ever was, incomprehensibly beautiful to human eyes.

Few were granted the privilege to even witness the Ruby, the duty of its protection given solely to one man. That man stood before the Ruby, gazing into its depths, the fire within reflecting in his eyes. Hard shadows were cast behind him, enhancing the intensity of his visage. He was dark-skinned and dark-eyed, approaching his middle years, light creases forming on his face. He wore a long garnet coat trimmed with gold, with a mane of long brown hair spilling about his broad shoulders.

His mouth opened and he spoke, his voice nearly the rumble of thunder, though the entity he was addressing could not be seen. “It stings to admit my fear of this. We are running out of time.”

A silence followed. Then, the man spoke again. “I don’t believe that will work. The bloodlines have grown weak after the Dragon War. There are hardly a few of us left.” The man looked down, solemnity darkening his face.

He waited some time, the quiet broken only by his gentle breathing. “I have been informed that several Guardians from the other Families have been active in the United States. A town called Tantallon on the eastern coast. Many Servants settled there in the seventeenth century, hoping to establish a power early in the development of the New World.”

The man paced before the Ruby for a time, his footfalls echoing in the dome. “It is as you say. There was much conflict between us then. The bloodlines are strong there, and the Guardians are seeking to establish new bonds for the coming battle. But how many of those Guardians can be trusted?” The man approached the Ruby again, the fire in his eyes even more intense than before. “The Black Emerald is awakening. We need to come together, now more than ever, if we are to even hope of defeating this evil.”

EXPLOSION AT ALDONAN PARK, UPPER TANTALLON

Theo read the words scrolling across his television screen with increasing alarm. His panting was ragged, sweat dripped from the hair stuck to his temples, and the pain in his left arm was throbbing. During his desperate sprint home, he had felt frustration at his own physical weakness, but now all he felt was shock and disbelief.

This can’t be real. The words drifted through his empty thoughts. He was just there, at Aldonan Park. It was his usual route home after a shift at work, but this time was not so usual. Half way through the park, passing over a small stone bridge, he felt some sickness fill him, some taint from the water below. Before he could look down, the ground exploded, sending him skyward along with shards of rock and spraying mist. And through the mist, between the shards, came the giant clawed hand of some inky-black thing. Its grip fell short, and Theo hit the ground, bouncing hard on the grass. He sat up in a daze, instinctively feeling his ribs for injury before testing his legs to make sure he hadn’t snapped his spine. Then, adrenaline kicked in, and he came to his senses. His head whipped back to the water, and in the same instant he started running away from it. He caught the creature’s gaze as it lowered itself back into the stream, sickly green eyes with slit pupils, too large to belong to any human. He hadn’t stopped running until he stumbled through the door to his home.

This is some kind of fucked up dream, Theo thought. But the pain that racked his body felt real enough, and he still felt the sickness that creature emanated.

He caught a few words of the news report. “Possible gas leak”, “earthquake”, and “volcanic activity.” Maybe there was a plausible explanation. Maybe he only imagined the black creature, clawing at him with murderous intent. No, he thought. I know what I saw. I’ve never hallucinated in my life.

What did it mean, then? Suddenly, unbidden memories bloomed on the edge of his mind. He had a dream the night before, more vivid than any he could remember.

He was floating in a void; it wasn’t dark nor light, but both at once, somehow. He looked down and saw nothing. He had no body. It was only his consciousness, floating there in nothing and everything.

Something emerged, then, ahead of him. It looked like a bird – a black bird, yet something more, soaring towards him. He always enjoyed watching birds, and envying them in their flight and freedom. Then, it was in front of him. It was a woman. She wore little else except the raven hair atop her head and feathers as black as jet.

“Why do you seek the strength of the True Gods?” The woman spoke, her voice clear as the chime of a bell.

“To bring harmony and justice to all people,” Theo heard himself say. He felt disassociated – he did not know where the words were coming from.

“Why do you seek the strength of the Amethyst Crystal?” The woman asked.

“To sew the winds of freedom for all people,” Theo heard his voice again, speaking words he did not know.

“Then speak my name, and form the bond,” the woman said.

Her name? Theo felt the word rising from somewhere deep within; he knew her name, somehow. He began to speak. Then something ripped him from his dream, and he woke in the midst of the night. Sleep did not return to him.

Since then, the day had progressed as any other day, until the park. It was just a dream. And I’m going to try to forget this day even happened, he thought, turning off the television.

Before he could stand, something felt like it was being torn from his chest, and he looked down. Theo’s pained cry was cut off as a powerful force from somewhere in front of him pulled him, and he spun in the air, headlong toward his back window. It shattered as he met it, and he fell into the alley behind his home.

There was something in the alley with him, thirty feet down. He recognized the sickly sensation from Aldonan Park as he turned to look at it. It was the same creature, its skin blacker than the void of space, all features hidden by a veil of darkness. All features save its eyes; reptilian eyes, pestilence writhing within them. It was vaguely humanoid, ten feet tall with arms as large as tree trunks and several vicious claws on each hand, and a long tail stretching behind it.

Panic gripped Theo’s innards like a vice. He scrambled to get his feet under him, but as he did, the creature pointed a claw at him and pulled it back as if to beckon him, and some invisible hand pulled within him once again. His eyes blurred as he was thrown toward the creature, and he cried out when he met the pavement, skin scraping and bones straining. Theo rolled onto his back and pushed himself up on his elbows.

The creature now stood only a few strides away. Its shadowy form lurched forward, dragging its hands on the ground as it moved towards him.

Tears stung Theo’s eyes. Shards of glass pierced the skin in his palms, the pain in his arm now screamed, and countless scrapes and bruises peppered his body. His head throbbed, and blood trickled down his neck. The feeling of disease from the creature now filled his body like hot liquid. He felt his life essence dwindling. No, no, no! I don’t want to die! Please, no!

The shadow was upon him. It slowly raised a clawed hand as if to strike him down. He tried to cry out for help, but he could not find the words. Then, a single word filled his head. A word he knew, somehow, though he knew not the meaning. He shouted it out with newfound vehemence, his cry echoing into the air.

“BRANWEN!”