<em><strong>The lands of myth and legend are not the self-contained stories they were thought to be, but a united world, with every culture's fairy tales and fables living in a delicate balance, four continents separated by an X-shaped ocean, each divided into the various ethnic regions. There is understood to be a fifth 'continent', but it exists in a nigh-unreachable realm above wherein only the most powerful of beings dwell and bestow blessings or curses upon the lesser beings, while also serving as the source of all magic and power in the world.<br/><br/>Some beings have the ability to tap into that limitless power, but have restrictions upon how it is wielded. The Djinni, for instance, can perform any feat of magic their masters desire, but only in the event they are conjured and commanded; their power and personal freedoms are restrained by this safeguard against their corruption, and no master could gain true dominion with only three wishes. None of the Djinni seem to remember why they have been condemned to such a fate but it must have been a truly harsh crime in a previous life that expelled them from the place the dead go for their eternal rest and chained them to their eternity of slavery. Few other beings ever attain that level of raw power.<br/><br/>One Djinn, however, did not accept their fate without a fight. Twisting every wish their hapless masters made, always bringing them to the brink of death and attempting to force them to free him from his lamp with their final wish in exchange for a promise of mercy, but failing every time when they chose to spurn him and earn death than to let loose such a horror upon the world unrestrained, Rumplestiltskin was a fearsome beast indeed, but man's greed never failed to tempt them to take the risk of rubbing the lamp of a Djinn that might very well be the legendary monster himself.<br/><br/>On one occasion, Rumplestiltskin attempted to dispense with his vindictive approach, by gaining the favor of what would be his final master, or rather, mistress, and gave her her heart's desires in hopes she would believe he was in love with her, and made her fall in love with him with his feigned charm and generosity. She freed him with her final wish, hoping they would live a mortal life together, but be happy and want for nothing with what her first two wishes had gained her. Instead, he buried her in the sand up to her neck and left her for dead in the blazing sun the moment he was set free. After all, it had taken infuriatingly long for her to fall for his insufferable ruse do what he had manipulated her into doing.<br/><br/>His freedom had not come without its disadvantages, however. His life was no longer eternal, nor was his magical power limitless. His connection to the higher realm beyond the veil was lost, and only by drawing upon his remaining skill could he replenish his magic and prolong his own existence. He would still grant wishes, but now they were given only in exchange for something else, whether a physical object, a favor, or merely a promise. He started building his strength up slowly, wandering the streets of the largest desert kingdom there was, preying upon the desires of the beggars and other such riffraff, whose wishes were simple but still gave him a boost in strength, and by the time he was done, he had enough to sink the entire city, palace and all, into the sand, annihilating both his benefactors and everyone else who had no idea what kind of demon was in their midst. With many of them dead, his obligation to fulfill their wish after the deals had been made evaporated and he kept the bulk of the energy generated by that fateful handshake. The drawback to this was that any deal he could not keep his end of, would result in his immediate demise. He had to be careful how he worded his arrangements, but had centuries of experience twisting things to mean just about anything in his favor.<br/><br/>He set his sights on loftier goals and decided that if the higher realm would not welcome him, he would settle for the entirety of the mortal realm falling under his dominion. But he could not do it alone. Nor would an army suffice to spread his influence. He needed peers, others of power and ambition, but of course none quite as powerful as he himself, they might get too many ideas about who ought to be in charge and challenge him. As long as he could remain top dog, even the most legendary of warriors and spellcasters would bend at the knee before him. So he set out, forcing every ordinary person he could come across to submit to his rule, join his army, or be put to death as an example to anyone who would oppose him. His war with the order that kept the worlds in balance had been declared loud and clear, but had so far been confined to the Southeastern region of the Eastern Continent. However, he was very near the coast and could thus invade any of the other three continents at any time. If there was ever a need to oppose a force by bringing together warriors from every corner of the world, it was now.<br/><br/>Only one person had the resources necessary for instigating such an endeavor; Snow White. Her access to the master Magic Mirror could connect her to any and all other mirrors in the world, both for sending messages to any who would listen, as well as using them as gateways for transport from any mirror to any other mirror, so long as the master Magic Mirror remained intact. If those who were willing to listen to the call would step through the mirrors and meet at what would become known at the Heroes' Summit, the world might just stand a chance of defeating Rumplestiltskin and preventing the world from degenerating into a dark, desolate place.<br/><br/>This ability to view things remotely alerted Snow White before any other kingdom received word of Rumplestiltskin's foul deeds, and a pre-emptive strike force was dispatched to deal with him before he grew any more powerful. It did nothing to deter the foul devil, and cost Snow her beloved. More than that, it clued Rumplestiltskin in to Snow's secret, and he would be watching her in just the same way she would watch him, though he couldn't make use of the mirrors in the same way. So while she had shown her hand first and he was able to beat her in this first round, she still had far more options than he. It did have one more unintended effect, however; Rumplestiltskin had become quite infatuated with the most beautiful in all the land, and now sought not to obliterate her like all other opposition, but subdue her, tame her, make her submit, and become his Queen. What great King had no fair maiden by his side, after all?</strong></em>