Prologue

Death, some say, is an evil mistress. Darkness her pawn, Shadow her shield and Light her sword. Corruption is her harbinger—a vile taint that soils the soul. Steals the dying’s final breath. But there are those that say that redemption and forgiveness can be granted with the simplest of requests. Deathbed prayers. A dying battle’s lullaby, sung to the tune of life’s all-important last rites.

Some days I’m not so certain that most are deserving. Only the Prophets know who are worthy. And why.

At time’s beginning, there were those who were gifted with the power of Light, and those who chose the path of Darkness. It is a balance the known world has suffered for a millennia. Personally, I’ve always wondered what happens when that balance shifts. When Light becomes etched in Darkness? When the spoils from eons of wars and the plethora of suffering and heartache becomes more than the meager can bear?

What happens when the Darkness spreads its dexterous fingers? Seeking far beyond its reach into the gilded land of Light?

There are those who agree with the Prophesy: Born from the union of Darkness and Light, from the Lord of the Dark Ways of the old gods of the Midnight Light and a daughter to the People of the Forest—a child will be conceived. The Chosen.

Prophesized and passed down through the ages, written and recorded in the blood of the Elders, marked forever in the Table of the Way—Justice will come for the Children of Light.

A half-breed, or Halfling, created by the touch of the Dark Lord of the Moon, and a daughter of the children of the Fey. A woman who will shelter the Other World in her mercy and eliminate the long suffering reach of Darkness. Her powers will Tell of the Light and quiet the beast that stalks the Darkness, dealing his death to the masses. She will possess the power to tame the Death Stalkers. Maintain the ability to listen to and hear those creatures long standing of the woodland and give them their voice. She will ease the suffering of the dying wanderers. In the shadows of the Darkness, you will find the growing embers of her Light.

Some say that I, Rihker Tennai—Pixie, Human, Half-breed and now Changeling, am that child. That I am the Chosen. That today marks the day that the Prophesy has been fulfilled. I’m not so sure that this is so. I do know that what comes next and who survives, only the Prophets know.

Am I this Halfling? This Chosen? In my Realm, anything is possible.

There are those who are the Watchers of the Way. And for now, they are waiting. Waiting, and watching like all the rest of us to see what the future holds.

All that I know for certain is this: Death is an evil mistress—she comes for each of us, eventually. But before her rides Justice. To the Children of the Light I am Deneau, I am that Justice, my punishment swift and my judgment final. In the end you will find me in the shadows—setting the Darkness ablaze with my glorious Light.