Prologue

Rowan had never cared much for religion, he had no scorn for those who did but had never been reliant on it, seeing it more as a way for those in need or unhappy with their lot in life to find fulfillment, however that outlook had just been wildly shaken.

Growing up he had always had a good life, his mother had unfortunately died during childbirth but his father had done his best to give him a good environment to grow in. His Father Ash was the owner of a much renowned bakery in the city of Cinderspiel famed for its delicious food as well as being frequented by nobles who live in or around the city.

Rowan much to the surprise of their friends and family did not inherit his fathers skill in baking, he did however have a great talent for acting and was known to ask anyone who looked the part if they were an actor, and if they were would they be willing to take him as an apprentice. His hunts had never borne fruit until in his 8th summer he met a man named Mikael Fuldren, an actor that while not well known had both indisputable skill and a love for pastries.

Having entered Cinderspiel as part of a minor nobles entourage he was unable to help Rowan but told him that he would be returning to the city regularly and would be willing to teach him when he had reached the age of sixteen as by then he would no longer be beheld to his current employer.

Eight years go by and as promised Mikael returned to the city to seek out Rowan, he found him as expected at Ash's shop. Rowan packed his things to travel with Mikael and promised his father that he would return every year and after a tearful farewell departed his home of sixteen years.

The first thing Mikael learned about Rowan was that while hopeless at cooking he was a very talented actor, capable of learning scripts at what felt like a glance and bringing character of every kind to life. Realizing the talent he had discovered he decided to forgo his original plan of having him slowly learn and gain recognition and instead began to formulate another.

Mikael began to reach out to everyone that owed him a favor or two making preparations to have Rowan debut. There just so happened to be the perfect opportunity in one year, the Dragon's Tale theater in CInderpiel held an event every year where renowned playwrights would debut their newest works for their peers to judge, and he was determined to get Rowan a leading role in one of the plays debuting.

With the help of a friend and playwright named Xenocius and the promise of baked goods from Rowan's fathers shop he managed to get Rowan the lead in a play titled 'The Sword and The Songbird' which was composed by his apprentice who would also be debuting that night.

Meeting the mystery author of this play was the first greatest shock of Rowan's life, he had been expecting to see someone sun deprived and scholarly like most playwrights he had seen before. However upon meeting the author for the first time he saw the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

Her name was Abigail Sundren, the daughter of Zacharias Sundren who was one of the wealthiest merchants in the nation. She had taken up dramaturgy at the behest of her father who didn't want to burden her with the responsibility of running a business empire that while profitable was not the enjoyable venture it was in his youth. Thanking her father for his loving gesture as well as not wanting to disappoint him she took to writing like a duck to water under the wing of Xenocius who was a good friend of her father.

Though awkward at first through the course of many rehearsals and much time spent together Rowan and Abigail began to grow close, and after a smashing success in their debut they decided to continue working together. Now working together to make masterpieces of all kinds the feelings they shared quickly deepened until they decided to get married but two years after their first meeting.

Shortly after their marriage they were approached by one of their close friends with a proposition. His name was Kemeldy Strop and he was starting a troupe of sorts and wanted them to join him as the main selling point. With both of them having a love of their respective craft as opposed to a love of fame they agreed to join him with the condition that they also travel to some smaller towns alongside the cities originally planned so that even for a brief time the commoners of their region would be able to experience theater.

Kemeldy happily agreed and thus the deal was made, three short months later Kemeldy's Caravan of Cheer was born, featuring renowned actor Rowan Sundren and famous dramatist Abagail Sundren as the star attraction. Thing went well with the caravan and Cinderspiel was a part of its yearly route allowing Rowan and Abagail to see their families regularly.

In their third year of marriage Abagail became pregnant, and nine months later Rowan recieved the second greatest shock of his life, as almost immediately after his wife gave birth there was a loud BANG as the 'hospital' which was just a tent that had been thoroughly cleaned was filled with golden light and a figure appeared hovering in the air.