When the stars were bright and mankind was young, the Gods controlled all. Each was powerful and great, but they cared little for humanity. They used men as they saw fit, disposable lowly playthings. Petty and cruel, the gods demanded tributes, vanquishing any who dared refuse and punishing others for their own amusement.

In the midst of the torment, a great warrior was born. His name was Aebalis. In the beginning, he did not seem so grand a prospect. The bastard son of a well-off Theasbian king named Mycor and a merchant's daughter, Aebalis had a leisurely childhood. While his father did not recognize him publicly, he provided his son with the finest education his gold could buy and made sure the boy need never work. When not studying, the child spent his time roaming his father's fields, learning about the flowers as he strolled. Soon, he became lazy.

His mother, Kade, tried hard to instill economic interests in her son. She often sent him to market with her father. She attempted to teach him the value of hard work by burdening him with chores. In the end, it did little good. Aebalis would just slink off and play.

As the boy grew older, he grew bigger, stronger, and sharper. Some claimed he was the smartest man in Theas, if he would only put it to use, become a scholar or join the king's guard. Instead, he would lounge.

Until, Mycor had enough. He had made sure his son was in want of nothing, but he had hoped that being unbound financially would make Aebalis more ambitious not less. He had been terribly wrong.

On his son's 18th birthday, King Mycor gave his boy an ultimatum.

"You do nothing but loaf. All day and all night you lay about," he cried angrily, "You will leave Theas and not come back until you have found a purpose to occupy your time with. Should you come back before, you will be cut off, penniless."

And so, the young man left. At first, he seemed undeterred by his father's threat. He began wandering along the city paths, plucking dandelions on the way. He remained unfocused and uncaring. Then one day, as he was traveling the road to Hespa, out of nowhere a beast with the body of a lion and the head and tail of a snake came blasting out of the forest, a squirmy screaming maiden in his jaws.

Seeing the girl's distress, Aebalis yelled for the creature to release her, but the beast just kept moving. He followed it to its cave, throwing rocks at it as he went. He pummeled the beast's tough hide with his fists. He stabbed it with his sword, but still the beast did not stop. Finally, the boy through his hands up in despair.

"Pleeeaaasse, for the love of Vietria, let her go!"

To his surprise, the monster replied.

"Ah, but you see, it is for the love of Vietria that I have taken her," it said, its jaw cupping the girl.

"What do you mean?" the man asked.

"I am the Leodrac, Child of Modepese and Vietria and it is for my mother that I have stolen this maid, so that I may please her."

In that moment, Aebalis saw his chance to stop the beast. He could already tell the monster was a soft headed sort. If he could not fight the beast with his fists, he would best him with his brain.

"But what good is a dead maiden to the Goddess of the Sky?" he reasoned.

The Leodrac sat back on his haunches ponderously for a moment. "I-I don't really know. Just seemed like the sort of thing one would normally offer a god."

"If she were Odis the God of Death or even Brickne the Beast Goddess, to be sure, it would. But your mother is a creature of the heavens would not it be better to fetch her a star?"

The Leodrac's face lit up and he dropped the girl with a thud. "A star? Wow, now that would be a present to behold. Thanks, friend."

"My pleasure. Now I will leave leave you to it and see this maid home."

Aebalis hurriedly reached for the girl, eager to escape before the monster realized one can not catch a star, but the beast blocked him with one enormous paw. Its face lowered to the point that it was staring the man in the face. The Leodrac's big gooey eye settled on Aebalis and its huge teeth shimmered with saliva as it spoke.

"Though your advise is good, I can not let you go, human. I have hunted all day for this girl and I am hungry and tired. If you will not do as sacrifices to Vietria, you will still work fine as a meal for myself."

The beast lunged at his prey and Aebalis quickly drew his sword. As the monster came close, he thrust his blade toward the creatures eye. Its point tore through the eyeball and the hilt stuck out from the center of the pupil. The Leodrac reared back and it let out piercing roar of pain. As the monster moved blindly, Aebalis grabbed the woman and ran as fast as he could away from the cave.

When they were finally safe, he returned the woman to her home. She and her family served him many tasty things to eat as gratitude and Aebalis felt a knew feeling he hadn't before. He felt proud that he could help her, that he had saved her. Suddenly, he knew he had found a path he could enjoy.

He had the intelligence and the heart to save people, to become a hero. However, he had been lucky with the Leodrac. His mind may have been sharp, but his body was weak.

And so, Aebalis set out for Domitrace, the city of warriors. He was intent on becoming stronger and learning to fight. He was ready to become a hero; his purpose revealed.