Chapter 1

The glow of a full moon could be seen through the hazy night air. A once desolate and barren land was now filled with the screams of Mother Nature. Howling winds and flash floods raced across the dirt plains that had only known emptiness. December’s chill usually brought change, but nothing like this. Seismic activity traumatized the lifeless planet as multiple shockwaves rippled across its surface. Millions of trees per second sprang up from the unfertile soil, while treacherous mountains took shape for thousands of miles. From an aerial view, it might look like the planet’s core was leaking, as water seeped through the cracked landscape. Valleys were formed and oceans were made within mere hours. Thick fog banks seemingly rolled in from nowhere as the night progressed.

Thunderous noises echoed throughout the newly shaped valleys. Thunderstorms covered the globe. Now, full blown hurricanes and tsunamis participated in the chaos. However, none of these unsightly miracles or natural disasters measured up to be quite as abstruse as what had been sweeping the land from the start: amidst the dense fog and insoluble haze, a mystifying multicolored aurora floated through the atmosphere. Radiating mesmerizing neon colors, it draped itself over the planet like an enchanted blanket. Although, it wasn’t long before it diverged into various trails that haunted the planetary turmoil from the sky. Blue, green, and yellow aura snaked down through the forests and valleys. The supernatural material even grazed the newborn oceans. The inexplicable binary dust was abhorrent and extraordinary all at the same time.

Storms raged and mountains continued to shift. Hour upon hour passed, but the night refused to come to an end. Beyond the planet’s stratosphere, new colorful streams appeared. Dark ribbons of purple and red slinked through the disarray. The texture of this aura was much rougher than the last. Rather, instead of the visually smooth streams of color, this one played host to a deadly arrangement of meteor rock. Raining down like a shower of fire, the meteors struck the fresh foliage and blasted the seas to new depths.

Had any human eyes had the privilege of bearing witness to the events of the evening, they would not have had the ability to comprehend what would happen in the final hours. Time seemed to suddenly fast-forward as the moon was eclipsed by the sun. The discord was halted as storms came to an end. The ground stopped shaking and the oceans went flat. As the skies cleared, half of the planet slept in darkness while the other basked in the eerie light of the eclipse. All of the mysterious streams of light vanished. The mist and fog disintegrated, but something new arrived. Something inconspicuous and impalpable took its place. Dark matter from the outermost reaches of space drifted inward. Like a magnet, the celestial orb pulled the intangible obscurity closer. The dark material became visible as it hung in midair. The planet’s gravitational pull had succeeded and brought the final ingredient into its grasp. The ever-changing black smoke froze and everything stood still. Minutes went by as the most basic forms of life stared back at the still eclipsed night sky.

Just as fast as it had appeared, the dark matter was concealed. An invisible explosion buried the planet and time unfroze. Only seconds had lapsed when everything came to life once more. This time, the cry of the harsh wind was replaced by the roars of a thousand beasts. The solar eclipse passed and the moon was instantly unhinged from the spot which it sat. It became tucked away on the other side of the planet as it was teleported away from the bright sun. Daylight flooded the rugged landscape as ethereal angels descended from the heavens. All across the planet, the ferocious roars grew louder and armies of dragons took to the sky. There, they and the heavenly beings were to fight to the death.

As far as the eye could see, magical portals adorned the skyline. Through the fuzziness and distorted gateways, numerous other lands could be seen. The door to interplanar travel had been opened, and the distinctive worlds now clashed. As a dragon’s flame met an angel’s beam of light, a card drifted through the different planes of existence and landed under the claw of a vicious creature. This was the Birth of Creation…