Prologue

After his confrontation with the Great Golden Dragon known as Rhuknor, Maranu Toramir fulfilled his word and freed the Great White Dragon named Balvor from her imprisonment, reuniting her with her father. However, Rhuknor had another child, his son known as Graymor of the Shadows, who was also Balvor’s mate. The Great Black Dragon Graymor was born into the corporeal realm to bear the weight of sin for all sentient lifeforms in the cosmos so that the Shadow Realm may not overtly influence mortal life. Downtrodden Graymor was constantly tormented by thoughts and deeds of murder, theft, and rape committed by mortals who know not the penalties of their misdeeds. It was only Balvor’s unconditional love for Graymor that soothed his tortured soul and allowed him to remain peaceful, but their love was tainted with contempt when Balvor sided with the humans against her lover. The dark-scaled Dragon was most displeased that his father had chosen to spare humanity who had dared set foot on the sacred planet of Tarrus, disturbing his family’s solitude after eons of tranquillity. It was then that Graymor broke with his father and sister, succumbing to his dark nature and swearing allegiance to the Shadow Realm. Graymor vowed to send all mortal souls to the Lord Corrupter in the depths of hell so that the universe may yet be silent as it was in the beginning, and nothing could come between him and his love for Balvor again.

Seeking vengeance against the people of Tarrus, Graymor rallied his own children that he and Balvor had borne, the Twelve Celestial Beasts who manifest themselves as the elements. Balvor begged Graymor to show mercy, but his heart was steeped in hatred and jealousy for mankind. Rhuknor wept that his family should battle again; and realizing that reality itself was becoming unhinged by Graymor’s fury, decided that the time of the Great Celestial Dragons had come to its end. Wielding a mystical item known as the Orb of Destiny, Rhuknor destroyed himself and Graymor, negating all possibility of maintaining physical form in the corporeal realm. After witnessing the deaths of their father and grandfather, the Twelve Celestial Beasts fled lest they too become spirits. Heartbroken at being separated from her father and her mate, Balvor begged her father’s spirit to do the same to her, and he relented, turning her into a spirit like himself. After hiding the Orb of Destiny far from prying eyes with Maranu’s help, Rhuknor imparted one last message to Maranu Toramir. He informs Maranu that mankind had now inherited the authority of the Three Elder Dragons, bestowing upon them the full gifts of Elemency that no other race besides the Firstborn could boast. This means that humanity will awaken a greater range of psionic abilities, and that they will be more prolific as Psionic Users than any other race in the universe save for the Dragons, the only sentient race born from Rhuknor. However, Rhuknor warns Maranu never to touch the Orb of Destiny and never to allow his power turn to vanity or blind ambition, or else it might be stripped from him and the human race left defenseless. To this end, Maranu pledges that he will only use the power of Elemency to serve, not to rule.

Realizing that many Demihuman races throughout the universe looked unfavorably on mankind, Maranu used the power that Rhuknor gifted him to bless other worthy humans with the strength of Elemency. These acolytes became the first generation of Elementals, and they fought long and hard to secure humanity’s independence from their alien neighbors. The most powerful of the new Elementals were Maranu’s most beloved students, Lexandar Lurranna, and Sifa Hamashe. Many years passed as Maranu, Lexandar, and Sifa protected the human race, allowing them to rebuild after the trials dealt by the Celestial Dragons. Even though humanity’s very survival depended on the Elementals, the human race is slow to change and is prone to jealousy for those who have what they do not. Believing that those gifted with Elemency must be tainted with alien magic, those without Elemency began referring to themselves as Pureskins as they wholeheartedly rejected Rhuknor’s blessing. Lexandar began to resent the other humans who were too fearful or too weak to accept the power of Elemency. Lexandar was also growing distant with his teacher, Maranu, whom he felt treated the Demihuman aggressors too softly when the power of Elemency could be used to conquer many races who were not as powerful as the Human Elementals. As Elementals were being used as little more than slaves and cannon fodder, a rift began to form. Two factions took route within the first of the Elemental Ministries. Maranu and Sifa led the faction of temperance and stability, saying that Elementals should not overstep their bounds by assuming control over humanity and the other Demihuman races, or else risk breaking their pact with Rhuknor. Lexandar and his followers decried the injustices of the government’s treatment of their people, and wished for vengeance against the Demihumans who continued to attack the burgeoning colonies of Tarrus. To avoid civil war, Maranu and Sifa captured Lexandar and held him hostage so that his loyal followers would not overthrow the Pureskin government of Tarrus. Lexandar relented for a time and forbade his followers from retaliation because of his deep respect for his former master ... and his growing affection for Sifa.

Chapter 1 »