Thousands of years ago, one of Sherath's distant ancestors refused to take on a quest. The task has to be done - it's vitally important - but nobody knows exactly what it is. Their race is dying out, and time is running out; and until Sherath comes into his full powers, he can't do it anyway. They have been waiting three hundred years for the saviour spoken of in an ancient prophecy to lead them on a long journey to adulthood and open the doors for them. But their saviour, and the key to success, turns out to be a volatile teenager from modern-day Earth. Sherath has hundreds of years of education in how to use the Power he will have as an adult, with little access to it as yet. Farinka, on the other hand, has access to vast amounts of Power, but no training in how to use it, what can and can't be done, and what is dangerous to try!

The Time Machine is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells, published in 1895 and written as a frame narrative. Wells is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle that allows an operator to travel purposely and selectively forwards or backward in time. The term "time machine", coined by Wells, is now almost universally used to refer to such a vehicle. The Time Machine has been adapted into three feature films of the same name, as well as two television versions, and a large number of comic book adaptations. It has also indirectly inspired many more works of fiction in many media productions.