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Prologue

The 2nd of Mailath, 1006. This day will make history, I know it. My name is Bauldoff. Bauldoff the Strong, as some call me. I am fighting for my life and my people, and, well, my world, Kaski.

Dark forces are attacking. They call themselves the Pack. They are ferocious creatures, appearance similar to a wolf, but minds of a philosopher. Their diamond-hard teeth and claws will penetrate the strongest of metals and their fur is so thick, that the hairs themselves must be like armor. Not only that, but they are huge, the size of a sturdy horse. And I can't leave out their most problematic quality, strength. They are so strong that they are almost unstoppable. Individually, we call these evil creatures a Giodah.

We, my race, have been fighting them off for almost a century. Keeping the small amounts at bay. But little did we know that around our border they were preparing for a battle, bigger than the what seemed to be huge ones that we had been dealing with for so long. A battle that was so massive, that I am barely making it out alive.

This battle has lasted 50 straight days already, many were slaughtered, from both sides. I am lucky to be alive still. I guess it proves my fighting skills. This is by far the longest battle I have fought, but it will come to an end today... Hopefully.

It is said that the Five Wizards of the East are coming to stop it. There is only rumors, but some have said that they were visited in a dream by one or two of the only spoken of legends.

No one has actually seen them, the wizards. They are in stories told over campfires and during bedtimes. Stories that came from so long ago, we don't know when they started. I hope it's true, that they are real and they are coming. I hope that I can stop fighting in this endless war and return to my family, who is hidden with the other women and children of this land. Hidden underground in a magically sealed door.

Now, I didn't say that there weren't any wizards, just that the most powerful five are legend. We have wizards here, not as many as there are U'Ahdak, the common race, but we do have wizards.

I am a U'Ahdak, so is my family. There are more races of many types also:

Vadif, the winged ones. They are commonly mistaken to be fairies, but the difference is one, their wings, and two, the fact that the Vadif are U'Ahdak size. The Vadif bear feather wings while the fairies have butterfly or dragonfly-like wings.

Then there are the Bailos, the mind-readers and future-tellers. There are few of them, less than the wizards, but they do exist.

There are also the Sasu, the shape-shifters. No one knows too much about them, since they are rarely identifiable, but there are enough accounts of them to have them been given a name.

There are the Wikasks, the woodlanders. They are half tree, half U'Ahdak. We see them around, they are the second most common race here. They look like a walking stick, completely made of living wood; just as if you were to paint yourself to look like a tree and then add leafy hair and the call of nature. That's their power, they can talk to the trees. But they aren't one of course. They usually wear only a short, pant-like thing made of moss or woven grass and the woman wear one around the top too.

And the Yareo, they are fish-like creatures that live in the seas and lakes. They're basically a fish mixed with a dragon (which we also have. That, merfolk, and even, though rarely, a unicorn or pegasus). The Yarieo have two back limbs of a dragon, the tail and body of a fish, and the head of a ferocious dragon.

Finally, there are the crossbreeds, or the hybrids. Occasionally, an animal and/or race will fall in love and are desperate for a child. This, obviously, might not work out all the time, so the couple will go to a wizard named "Hakdoi". He has the power to make the female become pregnant using both parent's genes. This makes a baby that is a hybrid of the two. Thus, we end up with the crossbred races. These races are usually contain only one or two of their kind, but they still are considered a race, even if they're not all the exact same thing.

Come on, I think as I strike a Giodah in the chest with my diamond sword, I need you wizards! Please let it be true! Please! Even I, a 32-year-old warrior, can't fight any longer! Suddenly, as if my wish came true, I heard the whining of the Pack and the cheers of men.

The five must be here.

Before I could even begin looking for them, I am lifted off of the ground; I seem to be flying! But I don't have wings, I am lifted by what seems to be a magical force. I see the battlegrounds, littered with bodies from all races. I see why my world was cheering but the Pack was scared; the wizards don't seem to be down there, but they have helped tremendously. They have shrunken the Pack to the size of a regular wolves.

Yes! Thank you, I think.

I stare at the ground as the world seems to fall from me as I am raised up, up, into the clouds. Once I penetrate the cloud barrier, I see five cloaked men, each on their own cloud. The one on the far right has his wand out and it glows like a blue sun. I shield my eyes from the blinding light, then let out a little yelp as I fall a short distance, only to land on top of my own cloud.

I stand up, letting the soft white mist welcome my aching feet. Up here, the light is like heaven bursting out from the atmosphere. I shake my head, clearing it, and then stare at the legend standing in front of me. They are real! The five wizards!

"Bauldoff," The one in the center calls my name in a deep, regal voice. "You are very important to us."

"M-me?" I ask, bewildered. The five nod.

"Yes," the one furthest to the left says in a much higher voice, I have to double-check to make sure he's not a woman; he isn't.

"Listen carefully, we are about to make something called a prophecy," the one to the right of the center says, his voice crackly. The five started to glow, each one the color of his robe and wand. The far left, green, left of him, purple, the center, yellow, to his right, red, furthest to the right, blue. Then they rose, hovering above their clouds.

They all start to speak at once in what seems like one voice, but each individual voice can be depicted also, at the same time.

"One will rise 250 years from now.

"One will conquer with his own way how.

"One will save the world from wolves.

"One will end it all."

Then they all waved their wands in unison. "Stop this treachery for 250 years, before the child will rise..."

Then they all disappeared, leaving me on the cloud. What?! 250 years till this is over? Or did they end it for 250 years? And who's this child?

Then the one who had been in the center reappeared in a flash of light. "We have banished the Pack to their own land, but they will return in 250 years. Your great-great-great-great grandson will put an end to them, that is why you are important. Your family will make history Bauldoff, your story will become legend. But first you must return to your family, good luck Bauldoff the Strong..."

Then he was gone, and I was suddenly back on the battlefield, which was completely free of the Pack. There was a huge party with all of the U'Ahdak, Vadif, Wikasks, you name it. There was food and drink, and I wondered how long I had been up there.

When I appeared next to my family, they jumped for joy, my daughter leaped into my arms.

"Bauldoff, where have you been?! And how did you get here?" my wife asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"It's a long story..."