On the heels of the skirmish men foolishly called the war to end all wars
the dark one sought to elude his destiny
and live as a mortal

so he fled across the ocean
to an empire called America
but by his mere presence
a cancer corrupted the spirit of the land
people were rendered mute
and fools who spoke many words but said nothing

for whom oppression and cowardice were virtues
and freedom
an obscenity

into this dark heartland
the prophet stalked his enemy
til, diminished by his wounds, he turned to the next in the ancient line of light so it was that the fate of mankind came to rest on the trembling shoulders on the most reluctant of saviours

Prologue, Carnivale.2