The oaken door before you opens of its own accord revealing a small chamber crowded with books, maps and parchment. The windows let in a goodly amount of light but many candles burn about the room adding a haze of smoke to the air. Rivers of old wax flow from the candle holders onto tables and down wall sconces. A robed figure turns at your entrance from a large book resting upon a gilded stand near the window. He is an older human with a flowing white beard and small spectacles perched atop a large nose. A soft cap adorns his snowy head and does little to contain the wild crop of hair that sprouts from his pate.

“Come in young one, come in.” He says with a smile, his voice raspy but clear. The man motions you to a wooden chair next to a table strewn with parchment and writing instruments. The human approaches the table and gazes at you for a long moment before continuing.

“So, you have come to learn the true history of Myrddin have you? Not that drivel they teach in the schools and not that rhetoric that the priests spout to their congregations, but the truth. Well, know this my young friend: Once I have told you all you wish to know, your life might never be the same again.” The man speaks this last as a warning, but you are too eager to heed it. You have heard too many rumors and speculations; too many stories told by the old men who heard too many stories from their grandfathers. You must know!

Seeing this in your eyes, the man nods and sits beside you. “Very well then. Where do I begin? Ah, yes. At the beginning of course.” He chuckles at his joke and you smile politely, wishing he would simply get on with it. Finally he does so.

“Many years ago, before your grandfather’s father’s fathers’ father’s father was born; in the age of wonder, the world of Myrddin was magnificent. Towering cities, vast fleets of sailing ships, armies of man, elf and dwarf. And monsters, oh yes… there were monsters too. Orcs and Ogres, Dragons and Undead. There were ruins and tombs, castles and graveyards… all that you have heard is true. And in that time were adventurers; men, women, elves, dwarves, those of Orcan blood… all wished to explored these ruins and seek for themselves riches and power. And they found them… oh yes.” The old man sighs and looks past you, into history and grows sad for a moment.

“One group of these adventurers grew very powerful. They had gained such magic and wealth that they wanted for nothing. They were as powerful as an army and could perform feats equal, some said, to the gods. And, unfortunately in time, they grew to believe this was true and began to think of themselves as gods… even possibly greater than the gods. And then they did the unthinkable; they challenged the gods for control of the world.”

The man makes a motion with his hand and your vision blurs. Beyond the room in which you sit, you look down upon the world. You have heard stories that it is a round ball, blue and white and that is what you see below you. A blue and white ball with patches of greens and browns upon it. Your view closes in on the world until you are looking down upon a great expanse of land. And there, upon the land, a battle is raging. The sage’s voice comes to your ears as if from far away.

“The usurpers, though few in number, were indeed powerful. Their mages cast the most powerful of spells with ease and their warriors could slay dozens with a single stroke of their mighty eldritch blades. Their priests were in league with the gods of chaos and evil and those gods threw their support behind the usurpers against the gods of good, and law and neutrality. The most powerful of these was the wizard, Pandor who created a magic box; an artifact of such immense power that it is said it could call forth the gods themselves. And the battle raged.”

Below you, you see the small band of adventurers, mighty and strong, striking out against the summoned champions of the gods and even some of the gods’ avatars themselves. Lightning and fire roil the landscape, great quakes shift the earth and reality itself bends and warps as the mightiest spells ever known are cast piecemeal and without thought or care. The usurpers’ own summoned creatures attack the armies of good brought to the battle by heroes of legend. Demons, devils, extraplanar beasts and beings hew man elf, dwarf and avatar alike. The seas boil and the air grows black with the smoke of burning forests, grasslands and cities.

“No one knows how long the battle raged. Some say for a year, some say it took but a day. Pandor’s box did indeed summon gods, but not as he had intended. Instead it summoned gods of another realm. These demigods of war, death, pestilence and hunger came when he activated the item and sought to destroy all mortal life on Myrddin.”

“Realizing his mistake, Pandor destroyed the box, shattering it into a thousand pieces which scattered across the land. In the end, the usurpers were slain, or banished to the nether realms to answer to their evil gods for their failure. Some, simply ceased to exist. The four demigods of the black flag were destroyed. Once Pandor’s box was broken, they had no means to return to their own realm and were slain by the forces of good. The gods of good and neutrality were victorious, but the price was very high. Some gods were gone, sent to other planes or simply destroyed. Others had gone mad and were imprisoned in places between the planes, where they could do no harm to themselves or mortals. And Myrddin…”

The sage wipes his eyes, obviously moved to tears by what you see below you in your vision. The land is burned black and reddish brown. Entire oceans are gone, replaced by gaping holes filled with the dead remains of ships and sea life.

Towns, villages and cities were gone; burned to the ground or simply erased by massive spells. The air was thick with smoke and dust. You see nothing that remains alive.

But then, you see it. A tiny point of light along a coastline. You strive to get closer and your vision responds, taking you down toward the light. You see that it is a town, beside a sea that still exists though it is brownish from the dirt and silt that flows into it from the blasted land. The town shines beneath a bubble of energy and inside are people, huddled and terrified…but alive.

“Ah, yes. You see it. That is your home my friend. That town is where you now sit. Saved by the last efforts of a few powerful mages who were too late to join the battle at the front, they protected our city from the wild magics and rampaging armies that ravaged the rest of the land. The effort cost them their lives.” The sage hangs his head in remembrance. “And the city flourished. Self-sufficient, self-reliant and thriving. But, you knew this already. But now…now things have changed. We need more food, clean water, room to grow. And we need to know. And you are here because you have a hunger. You want to know what lies beyond the city walls, beyond the farms outside… beyond the horizon. You have the same desires that youngsters have had since the first child moved out from behind its mother to gaze into the world.”

The man pats your shoulder and stands, and you suddenly realize you are back in the small room; the vision of the past is gone but burned into your memory. “Let me tell you something of what is out there. There are monsters. There are dangers aplenty. No one knows if the summoned creatures of that long past war still live. Over the years, a few brave ones like yourself have ventured out. None have returned. Most of our people are content to exist here, live out their lives in peace and comfort. But there are always those like yourself who want more.”

The sage walks to the window and opens it, letting in the sounds of the city outside. “If you wish to seek your fortune outside these walls, I can only tell you to prepare yourself well. Train yourself in body and mind. Seek others of a kindred spirit to aid and support you for you will never return alive if you go alone. And I would ask a boon.”

The man approaches you again. “There may be remnants of that golden age still left out there. In ruins or perhaps even surviving towns. We lost much of our knowledge in the war; the greater spells, the secrets of training our warriors to be better than simple soldiers, the words to speak to our gods that they might bestow greater blessings upon us. These things you might find… out there. Bring them here to me so that I might record them in the books and pass this knowledge on to others. Wealth and treasure are yours to keep, but knowledge…” The sage looks skyward. “Knowledge belongs to all.”

He sighs and looks at you once again, helping you to your feet. As he walks you to the door he places a hand on your shoulder once more. “There is no shame in remaining in the city. It takes a special person to venture out into the unknown, and an even more special one to go where there is known danger. Think carefully youngster, before deciding for that choice will forever alter your destiny.”

You exit the sage’s chamber and behind you the door swings shut leaving you alone in the darkened corridor with your thoughts. As you exit the building where the college is located, you stand in the street surrounded by the people of your home. You look left and right, knowing this is a symbolic decision. One path leads to your home, your life as you know it and a safe future here in the city. The other, lies toward the unknown. Riches, power, glory, knowledge…. death. All these things await you on that path. With one last look both left and right, you square your shoulders and turn, taking your first steps toward your future.