Chapter 1. Kincaid's Bane

The Planet Earth...
Location unknown...
Date & Time Unknown...



The time had come. He was ready.

Barely thirteen-years-old, but Persephone knew Arthur was as ready as he would ever be. She had been with him since his birth, whispering into the darkest caverns of his mind, poisoning his every positive thought turning every one of his blue skies black.

She had played a long game, fashioning herself a weapon in the form of a young boy. And now, her ever-faithful pawn was prepared to carry out her will.

"You...are ready," she said shortly.

"I draw breath to please you, Persephone," Arthur rasped.

"And you will," Persephone said. "Now...what is your mission?"


"I will track down Lester Kincaid. Infiltrate his inner circle and earn his trust. I will discover what he plans to create, and take the measures to stop him. And only then, once every trace of his abominations have been cleansed from the planet, will I kill him. Only then, can I purge mankind of the evil of him and his kind."


"What of your family?" Persephone asked. It was a superfluous test, if truth be told...he'd been prepared for this moment since he could walk.

"I do this in their name," Arthur said. "With Kincaid gone, they will be free from his darkness. And...by keeping my true intentions from them, I can harness their hatred and their capacity for great and terrible things will be unlocked. I can twist this to my own cause."

"You have been blessed with the gift of Magic," Persephone said, nodding to him. "You stand the first of your kind. Yet you need...more."

"Only the Fountain can grant me such strength," Arthur replied. "I need both its location and the means to access it."

"And what is your ultimate goal?" Persephone asked.

"Death," Arthur replied, without hesitation. "I will purge New Atlantis of life, wipe clean it's surface. And then...I will reduce their planet to dust."

"Then go," Persephone said. "Begin your new life. Bring glory to us."

Arthur, for the first time, looked Persephone directly in the eye.

"I will honor you, Persephone, with gifts of blood and death. The blood of New Atlantis and the death of Magic forever."