Prologue

Plunk... plunk… plunk…

The only sound to be heard by a person walking the worn cobblestone path was the steady dripping of water from a gutter-pipe against the hard ground.

Plunk… plunk… plunk...

The full yellow moon stretched its arms and hovered warily over the rows of buildings lining the street, watching over the town with its otherworldly glow.

Plunk… plunk...

Not a living creature was in sight; the trees had long before laid up their branches and laid down to rest, and even the owls which usually perched on lampposts and sang their questioning song were tucked far, far away into the night, out of reach of all that might gaze upon the scene.

Plunk...

If anyone had dared to lay their eyes upon the outdoors, they might have seen, among the still tomb that was the town, a lone figure scurrying along the road, making their way to the large building looming over the street’s end.

Plunk…

They stopped short in front of the tall iron-clad door, warily gazing back and forth before procuring a bundle of rags from beneath their robes. Trembling in fear, their breath whispering into the chilled night’s air in a cloud of fear and regret, they gently laid the bundle down on the doorstep. The darkness was kept at bay by the moon and the streetlamps, but soon another light joined the mix. A green glow radiated softly from the bundle, casting an odd shadow on the weathered stone walls.

Plunk…

The figure turned to leave, but immediately regretted this decision and swiveled to face the doorstep again. They leaned over, slowly making the sign of the cross against their chest, and examined whatever lay there for a minute more.

Plunk…

They jumped back suddenly as the green glow grew in intensity and fled, their robes fluttering behind them with every step as they ran without looking back.

Plunk…

This is what some brave soul would have seen if they dared to look out the window, but for some odd reason, the townsfolk felt compelled to go to bed early that night. All slept soundly, except three.

Plunk…

One, the dark figure who loomed in the night.

Plunk…

Two, the pathetic infant wrapped inside the blankets, oblivious to how his life had just changed forever.

Plunk…

Three, the man inside the mysterious building, who felt a strange urge to rise from his bed and go to his door. He took the bundle into his arms and returned inside with a sense of calm settling over him, leaving nothing else outside the building but a rusty, weathered sign- Empyrium.