Prologue

As the sun rose, it slowly burned away the mist that had submerged the valley the night before. Gradually, the smoke from chimneys replaced the fog, and the picture of a tiny country village appeared at the bottom of the valley.

This village had that timeless feel, yet today, there was a disturbance to this village. The repetitive sounds that gave this village part of its charm stuttered then gradually stopped as the villagers paused to look as a stranger meandered down the only path into their village.

With all the villagers staring at him, the cloaked stranger walked toward one of the few villagers', Nick Tomaz. At first, the villagers moved forward to block the stranger, but then the stranger stood up straight and as if on command, the wind blew through the village kicking-up a screen of dust.

When the dust settled, the villagers were able to catch a glance at the stranger as he placed his hand upon the villager's head before they both disappeared. The villagers would not see Nick again until he became a very different man.