On the heels of the skirmish men foolishly called the war to end all wars

the dark one sought to elude his destiny
and live as a mortal

so he fled across the ocean

to an empire called America

but by his mere presence

a cancer corrupted the spirit of the land

people were rendered mute

and fools who spoke many words but said nothing

for whom oppression and cowardice were virtues

and freedom

an obscenity

into this dark heartland

the prophet stalked his enemy

til, diminished by his wounds,
he turned to the next in the ancient line of light

so it was that the fate of mankind
came to rest on the trembling shoulders on the most reluctant of saviours

Prologue, Carnivale.2