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The Earth is old and ancient. Though the present day is filled with the mundane and the ordinary it wasn't always like this. Long ago the world was filled with magic. But then time pressed forward. During the great purge countless sorcerers were slaughtered and the dragons, magic's most noble creatures, were killed. Slowly overtime, magic seemed to fade from the world but it never truly left. Instead, it lay dormant in the Earth, a silent presence watching from the shadows.
Waves break out along the surface of a lake as old as time. The ancient magic within the lake starts to ignite and echoes in the night air for the first time in ages. Winds whip against the trees surrounding the water and a spark fills the atmosphere. The usually peaceful waters begin to bubble and flow with a rapid current that has been created from a force deep within the Earth.
All at once the rushing winds and raging waters halt as a pulse of power reverberates in the air, so strong that it seems to stop time itself. It passes. For a moment, the lake appears to have returned to it's natural state of calm serenity. Then the water in the lake splashes and ripples as the head of a man breaks the surface with a heavy gasp.
The night is calm and still. He was deeply asleep, caught up in dreams of a life he lived so long ago. Without warning the old man is jolted awake as a flash of heat consumes him. He feels the forceful energy vibrate through him for the briefest of moments as he is being pulled from his dreams. He chokes and wheezes on air as he rejoins the waking world. As quickly as the sensation appeared though, it was gone.
The old man's tired eyes swept across the darkness of his room as his racing heartbeat began to settle. Nothing appeared to be amiss. His eyes landed on the glowing digits of the analog clock on his nightstand and he scoffed at the late hour. With a huff he rearranged himself into a comfortable sleeping position, his bones joints cracking as he did so and settled down against his pillow. Almost immediately he was asleep, totally numb and unaware of what had just taken place and what changes were beginning to brew within himself.