Introduction

The frontier city of Crenshaw falls under siege to sinister forces led by a devotee of a longaEUR"forgotten god. Not a single ally answers their call for help, but not because they do not want to. No one comes because the decadesaEUR"long time of peace and prosperity in the land of Rill suddenly comes to an end as war breaks out all across the country. The Conclave, a group of powerful crystal wizards known for keeping the peace, is strangely silent. Crystal itself, the source of all magic through its connection to the World Stone conduits of energy, is behaving disturbingly erratic. No one seems to know why the fighting begins, or even where the masses of enemy soldiers come from, but Rill is soon torn apart by worshippers of a god of decadence and deceit, and everyone is frantically searching for somewhere to wait out the storm.

The Prophecy and the Key

Seventeen years have passed since an oracle of Laman Da foretold of a key to the future of all life in Rill and the world beyond, but no one understood the significance or the gravity of the prediction. Now it might be too late, because whichever side controls the key... controls the world. Follow an unlikely band of friends, a halfling pyromaniac with sticky fingers, his human warrior buddy, and their beautiful wizardess companion they met in jail, as they attempt to make their way to safety and discover their roles in the sudden events erupting around the world. However, when the gods, believed long dead, unexpectedly turn their attention to a world in conflict, no one seems to know where their roles will take them.

The Beginning of the Tale

So begins Crystal Beginnings, the first book in the tale of the Fall of Crystal.