You are walking along a dusty path, in a meadow you have never explored before. Sweat is running down you face and neck, not because it is hot though. The temperature is perfect, it’s the dragons circling the skies above you that are causing your discomfort.
To make things worse you come across a gate that blocks the path. You frown and give it a close look. It is made of steel, and blinding light frames the edge. Light shines through three keyholes, your friend told you to come here. You were told you were the only one able to unlock the best adventures. You weren’t told you needed a key though.
With a shrug, you step off the path and decide to just go around the door. You have to stifle a scream when a dragon appears from behind the door. His scales are the same color as the door, perhaps that is why you didn’t see him before.
“Were you sent to open the door?”
“Yes, but I don’t know how.”
“Are you pure in spirit and stout of heart?”
“I think so…” What a strange question you think.
“Then you will figure out how to open the door. You have the key, of that I am certain.”
He falls silent, save for a strange, soothing hum that shakes the air around him.
“What if I don’t want to go on these adventures? What if what’s behind that door is something I don’t like?”
The meadow falls silent. Even the flapping of dragon’s wings fades away. He tilts his head again and narrows his eyes. His gaze is so bright it hurts to look straight at him.
“Why wouldn’t you want to find out?”
“I don’t know, can’t you give me a hint?”
“Very well,” he grumbles, “but this really isn’t my job, I am the Historian, not the storyteller.”
He turns and considers the door. “If you unlock that,” he says, pointing a talon and shaking his wings, “you will gain access to the history of our world. The entirety of the Lodestone Chronicles will be laid bare before you. Every week you will see another step on the journeys of our heroes and villains. You will see the swirling dance of Light and Shadow.”
You cross your arms and frown. How can you be sure?
One of the keyholes appears to be shining more brightly than the others. You look closer at all three of them. Your eyebrows jump when a shadow darts past another one. You reach out to touch it, but a tendril of wind reaches through the third keyhole and wraps itself around you.
You snatch your hand away, but the smell of brine and muggy sea air cling to your skin.
“What was that?”
“The Adventures, they are trying to draw you in.”