Before the Beginning

Lucius stared at the globe. _At_ wasn't the right word - more like _through_. A small pin-prick of light blinked from within the onyx sphere, a light not much larger than a speck of dust.

_And there it goes. No turning back now._

Lucius balanced the globe on the tips of his fingers as he returned his focus to the center of the crystal ball. So fragile - drop it into the dirt and it could all be destroyed.

_Drop it now, it may not be too late. The Council need not know of its creation._

Yet as he pondered what he had done (and what could happen to him if he were discovered), the speck of light within the blackness pulsed and grew ever so slightly brighter. Lucius knew that with every second that passed the seriousness of what he had done increased exponentially.

Magics such as this were old magics, forgotten and forbidden magics. Yet Lucius had a plan. The creation of this Existence Sphere was but a first step; next, and more difficult, was figuring out how he could hide his son safely within.