Prometheus, who had been concealed in Neff's fur, made his entrance by throwing himself high in the air.  The little clay man attempted to do three summersaults and land with a split.  Attempted.  After the second summersault he landed, face first into the sand.  Grumbling, he pulled himself back up, dusting himself off and giving sheepish looks to the crowd around him<br/><br/>"Ehem, I am Prometheus!  Your savior!  I shall lead you through the Badlands and to the mountain of the forge!  Our victory is ensured when you travel with me, so fear not!"  Prometheus stuck out his little chest, waving one hand in the air, before taking a long bow before the pair.  What they made of this, well Prometheus would have to see.<br/><br/>*****<br/><br/>Crane's fingers trembled as they tossed over another page of the large tome.  What he read could not be!  He was destined to bring about the end, this was for certain he knew of this.  His father, he knew, was dying, his power waning.  But it seemed as if there would be an alternative path taken, a wild card hidden up destiny's sleeve.  Crane re-read the passage again, feeling hot anger and confusion.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">'On the hour of the Black Moon, of day 5 of the summer month, the gateway will at last be re-opened to usher in an era of destruction.  It is foretold a young god will rise to halt the coming invasion, and although successful in his primary endeavors he will find that his once thought allies will turn against him in betrayal.  This, combined with the rise of the two mirror gods o the plane will bring about the destruction of this planet and it's inhabitants.'</span></span><br/><br/>Crane's eyes burned with the threat of tears.  Everything he was born for was for naught, for soon the end would come.  The part that disturbed him most was the mention of betrayal.  He had been wrong then, to leave Celris and Ozbourne for perhaps he could have stopped that path.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">No matter...</span>He thought.<span style="font-style: italic">I will stop them from making that choice, one way or another..</span><br/><br/>Slowly Crane closed the book, it's ancient knowledge sealed within.  The Tome of Time was an artifact locked in Mount Hephaestus.  When his father cast it into the mountain, he hoped the intense heat would destroy it, keeping it's knowledge from mortal eyes.  The book, with the knowledge of generations to come, withstood the intense heat, almost magically, and found it's way into a Highbreed archive.  Apparently the Highbreed had no knowledge of it's powers for Crane had found it hidden on a forgotten pedestal far in their library's depths.  It had taken him ages to infiltrate the inner sanctums, but with his quick wit, and abilities, he had been able to reach them.  In fact, the hardest part was avoiding being cooked by the lava rivers..<br/><br/>The sound of grinding metal pulled Crane from the pages of the book, and as he turned he found that he had obviously not been as stealthy as he had hoped, for right there, in front of him, stood two Highbreed, metallic weapons drawn for action.<br/><br/>"Why, um... Hello there gentlemen, I was just... ermmm.  Welll...."  Crane stammered helplessly for a few moments before drawing his own weapon.  Had he his trusty blade, he would've already dispatched the two beasts, but alas, he did not, and would have to make do with an obsidian pole he found lying around in the corridors.  With a sigh, Crane launched himself at the two Highbreed, rage in his eyes.