Janette Lennox

Prologue

During the late 1970s, a crisis took place in the magical world. The crisis began with a group of young magicians; those magicians were tired of how the magical world was going. They blamed the witches for using their magic to create discord among the magical population. The lure of the non-magical world was strong; many magicians abandoned their homes and families to live in the non-magical world. Most young magicians wanted to get rid of magic altogether, as witches had used magic for their own evil purposes and no one would stop them. By putting an end to the use of magic, they believed that the witches would decline.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be.

In 1978, a magical war began between the witches and the Spellcasters and Mages. The witches who wanted to use magic for their own evil purposes while the Spellcasters and Mages wanted to eliminate magic completely or rewrite the laws of magic to ensure that witches cannot use magic anymore. Many people on both sides were killed in the war. Many non-magical people also took sides; most wanted magic gone because they considered magic as evil and not of God. Many non-magical people died in the war as well.

The magic wars lasted for 25 years. It seemed that whenever a fight occurred between the witches and Spellcasters, the witches emerged victorious. They had wanted to use their magic to take over the world and force non-magical humans to be their slaves. The Mages and Spellcasters wanted everyone to be free; even so, they wanted all magic users to use magic only for good. Many non-magical people didn't like the witches. In fact, many brave people staged many guerrilla attacks against the witches, hoping to slow down their fighting and discover the source of their powers.

Many people believed the source of the witches' powers existed in a book called the Book of Magic. The large book was bound in a dusty turquoise canvas and in good condition. The cover had a large illustration and comprised of many color illustrations. The book contained many spells that no Spellcaster or Mage would touch; these spells were considered the utmost evil. Those spells, if used, could do terrible damage to the non-magical people.

The book was hidden in a huge jeweled box inside the witches' square within the dark forests of Klakesh. Three witches guarded the book, killing or bewitching anyone who dared to go near the book. Not even the bravest humans could get the book without doing battle with the witches; those who attempted to steal the Book of Magic seldom escaped from the witches with their lives.

At that point, no one knew what to do. Many people were tired of the war, as most magicians had lost families and friends in the war. Some magicians were too spell-damaged to fight anymore. Some of them believed they should quit fighting the witches altogether. Others weren't too sure, given that a retreat from the war would be a surefire sign of defeat, and no one wanted to give the witches their victory. Many people agreed that unless something was done, the witches would continue their reign of terror upon the world.

"We must try harder!" a man shouted as a group of Mages and Spellcasters met in the fellowship hall of a local church one night.

"We've given it all we got," said another man, "but no matter what we try, we never succeed. Those witches have to go; the sooner they leave, the better off the rest of us will be!"

"Indeed," said the first man, "but how will we stop them? We can't fight them with our magic and we can't ask the wizards to aid us..."

"I've just received word that Malgar the Brown has refused to aid us," said a third man. "He has thrown in his lot with the Gray Witch."

"We have lost yet another ally," said the second man with a sigh of grief. "Our list of friends and allies grows thin."

"It doesn't have to be this way," said the first man. "We can still stop them, even if we're the last ones standing."