It's as if you were trapped in a dream.
For some of you, the tale of The Toymaster may have been one of mutual understanding and dealership; for others, the tale begins with coercion and force. But whatever the circumstances, the ultimate truth is that all of you awaken in a toyshop. The sensation almost feels natural, as if you're somehow still able to breathe and smell and sense the world around you. But looking at your hands reveals that they were as artifical as the rest of you, trapped within a clear plastic container with flashy and gaudy branding atop it.
You are a toy.
The toy shop you have woken in is remarkably clean and modern. Artifical lights shine bright from a roof much more akin to a warehouse or a megastore than a quaint workshop, closer to a 'Toy's 'r' Us' type store. The store is completely empty of people, the hustle and bustle of customers instead replaced with the writhing and awakening of others, much like yourself. The vast majority of them are new, just like yourself. Awakening from the isles and shelves and erupting from their packaging as they try and figure out what is going on and how to survive. In the shadows, older secrets work.
The calendar on the till's operating system reads late December, but even though it is mid-winter, there is no snow to be found. Instead beyond the glass doors to the outside world a torrential downpour thunders, water blown near-horizontal thanks to howling winds strong enough to make trees buckle. A residual boom of crackling thunder looms overhead.
You must fight to survive.
How and why the thought entered your head is difficult to ascertain, but you know for certain that every toy that has awakened is now your enemy. Whether or not they could ally with you, you realise that only one toy can survive, and only one toy can be victorious. Even if this thought somehow never enters your head, the visual demonstration of two Action Men throwing blows at each other and throwing each other off of the shelves onto the floor is enough of a visual demonstration of the struggle.
And thus, The Battle Toyale Begins.
