Prologue

- All men have souls and dream of heaven –

The boy sat on the swing.

A strong gust of wind tore past him and he closed his eyes as he waited for it to pass. He was alone. There was no one in sight for miles around. Using his right foot, he carved his name deep into the sand beneath his feet. He gazed up into the sky. The heavens were burning. The clouds rained fire and thick dark plumes of smoke billowed across his field of vision but they did not disperse with the blowing wind. They hung in the air, blocking all light from the sun that the boy knew hung just above the darkness. His mind was troubled. But he was waiting for someone. Another ferocious gust of wind tore into him and he closed his eyes waiting for the wind to pass.

Where will we be when we are gone?

Not long, his ears, sharp as they were, pricked up. He heard the sound of approaching footsteps from behind. His eyes narrowed. While still on the swing, he spun his body around. But there was no one to be seen. Instead, stretched into the eternity of distance and up to the orange horizon, he saw broken and ruined structures, the shattered remnants of the world, some still burning with great fires that would never be put out. In the distance beyond, he knew, there would be weeping, wailing and a great distress unequalled since the beginning of time.

What will become of us?

A great sadness fell upon him. He turned back around only to find a man standing before him, wrapped in grey robes that fluttered in the wind behind. "Come now. We must go", spoke the man, offering the boy his hand. The boy took it and rose to his feet. The man turned to leave. "Where will we go?" asked the boy suddenly, his face growing dark. "What will become of us?"

Turning back to face the young boy, the man looked down at him. Then he raised his eyes to look behind the boy. His eyes had a distant look about them and the boy knew that the man saw the destruction and desolation and shared his sadness. "We will make a place. And it shall be our place. Be it over the earth, or under it, or above the seas, or under it, even in the depths of despair or in the glories of the high heavens, we will find a home. There will be a place for us", replied the man. "For all men have souls and dream of heaven. And so must we."

His robes billowed in the wind.

"But the world burns", whispered the boy, remaining where he was. "And it will never recover. Even if it does, the memory will scar. The world will remember, and will burn with hate and vengeance toward those who brought about such pain and anguish." He looked up at the man who frowned to himself.

"Perhaps", said the man, still staring into the distance. "But, there are other worlds, boy", he murmured softly. "Other worlds beyond...". He turned to face the boy. "We will find them. And we will find them together."

Then the man pulled a hood over his face, hiding most of his visible features.

"Come", he said once more.

With one last look behind, the boy's gaze went to the name he had carved deep into the sand moments ago. But he was just in time to see the wind, seemingly purposefully, erase letter by letter of his name. This world turns its back on us. Yet, a defiant smile rose to the boy's lips as the wind erased the last letter. He turned his head back to face front and followed after the grey robes of the man. And as his name disappeared from the sand, the boy disappeared from the world.

And so did the man.