The market place in Mooneyville was bustling that day, and several of the village children had gathered around an old man. Once the town historian, he now spent most of his time telling stories to the village youth. "Ah, let me tell you a story," the old man said. "It's a tale of the old times, a tale of might and magic, the tale of the dreaded Mage-King!". His audience stirred slightly, for unlike the ancient historian none had been alive at the time, nor had most of their parents.       "Around one hundred years ago, the forces of the Mage-King marched across our fair kingdom of New Obispo. Armies filled with vile humanoids and red demons swept across the lands and with lightning fast moves they attacked. Wattsburg and Santa Farris fell quickly before their might. Carpenteria fell soon after, overrun by the strange creatures under the Mage-King's control. Brendanmen was placed under seige for three weeks before The Day the Sky Rained Fire. On that dreaded day fire, itself, poured forth from the sky incinerating all who opposed the Mage-King. For you see, the Mage-King was a very powerful and wicked man. Some say that he had labored for centuries learning the black arts, others insist that he sold his soul to Baelzebub in order to obtain his magik, and still others say it was a pact with the Dark Ones." Several of the children crept away a bit at the mention of the evil deities as if the Dark Ones were indeed listening to the tale.       "Soon after Brendanmen had fallen his armies surrounded Mooneyville and Castle Parzanese. All seemed hopeless until a young lady by the name of Tamara Sunshine one day stood up. She said that she could defeat the Mage-King with her sword, the SunWorshipper. Now here was a strange lass. I'm not even sure if she was human. She only told us that she was from a far away land. I'm telling you, though, the features of her face were all wrong. The bone structure was too delicate for a human's and her mannerisms all wrong for an elf's.       "Well upon having this young lass step forward, Mayor T. Mooney the First set about organizing a small strategic strike force to accompany Tamara on her quest. A sort of suicide squad of heroes you might say. Along with Tamara went seven others, one of which was the famous Great Mage, Parzanese. Using his sorcery, Parzanese teleported the party to the outskirts of the Mage-King's dismal forest. They all entered the forest, but only one would ever emerge.       "What exactly happened next, only the Gods and the Devils know. For only one person emerged from the battle with the Mage-King, and that was the mage Parzanese. He appeared four days later with the body of Tamara in his arms. He looked older and haggard, like his life had just been sucked away. He wouldn't speak much about it, just that the Mage-King and Tamara had killed each other during the battle. He handed over her lifeless body to Mayor Mooney and then locked himself inside his castle. Twenty years later he disappeared never to be heard of again.       "With the Mage-King defeated, his armies soon crumbled into disarray and were soundly driven back. A grand burial was held in the mountains for Tamara. All the important people and nobility were there. I, myself, was in attendance, to record the events for the histories. Peace was finally brought to our small kingdom."       Here the man paused. A distant look had fogged over his eyes as if history was replaying itself. A grim look furrowed his old, leathery brow. "Now kids, go to your parents." He shooed the children gently away from him. The worried look remained on his face. He had heard the rumors of war, seen the signs. Armies were marching again, the peace had ended. Evil was once again walking the Kingdom. And he was too old and too tired this time to do anything about it.       An army of reptilian warriors was massed in the Fire Swamp. A magikal tower surrounded by Iarossi, the Bandit King, and his armies rolled towards Carpenteria. Undead were infesting the mountains near Santa Farris. And strange beasts and humanoids were lurking in the shadows deep within Rachel's Woods. It was beginning again. The Great Mage Parzanese wouldn't be able to stop it this time; he had long ago disappeared. Tamara Sunshine laid within her tomb. New heroes would have to arise and take fight, to carry on the epic battle, and to finally put an end to the evil.       Somewhere a crystal waited.