It started with the great catastrophe. The earth was engulfed by fire and darkness, and portals to magical worlds were opened creating a convergence between the dimensions. Earth became a place of desolation and man's heart darkened, love was lost and evils roamed the earth. Most of the world was destroyed leaving ruins, anarchy and…magic.

Magical beings roamed the earth with mankind, dragons, living deads, vampires, ghosts, demons, elves, and ogres; dark forms that consumed souls desolated whole cities and peoples. The earth became a harsh place to live in, and stories of hope became a thing of the past.

My father told me that the earth had become cursed, and there was little chance for mankind's survival. My mother had died while giving birth to my sister and my father was left with taking care of the both of us, he taught me all I knew, how to fight for survival, because staying alive was the only hope we had. 'The sword and the heart are the greatest treasures you can have,' he had always told me, 'never lose any, always keep hope alive and guard your heart with your will and your sword.'

He had fought dangerous creatures to keep us alive, strange creatures that he said never used to exist in the world, three-headed beasts, stone monsters, Naschians, creatures that could make you bleed to death by staring into your eyes and you had to fight with your eyes closed. He taught me the way of the sword and I fought along with him in many battles for survival. He also taught me how to use the gun and it came in handy, but we usually had to ration our bullets because they were hard to make and were usually limited.

He taught me to be careful of fellow men because they were cunning and most times would do anything to get your supplies, even take your life. In this world, man had become man's greatest enemy, there were no real friends and friends could become enemies that could kill you if they had to, so most people kept to themselves and were not willing to relate with others.

Some men had strange dark powers, some learned the art of darkness and had mastered it, and some had the powers gifted to them, some by the forces of light and others by the forces of darkness. Some could read minds, turn invisible, conjure fire, cast spells, camouflage, vanish, and command elements, and most used these powers to destroy others or take from others. It was either you had magical powers, you were skilled at weapons, or you were very smart and cunning, if you lacked any of the three you would be dead, and you needed a bit of luck to…luck and a lot of hope.

When my father died, it wasn't the monsters or the spirits that killed him, neither was it magical men or death bandits; it happened suddenly and unexpectedly as if it were meant to happen. A slight fever that started in the day and before the sun set he had left us...left me alone with my sister and turned my world upside down. The world suddenly became darker and the only thing that kept me sane was my little sister, her smile and the look in her eyes when she laughed were priceless, and it gave me hope that there was still good in this world, and strength because I had to protect her at all cost and I had to do it alone because my father was gone.

'There is hope Max, you have to find it,' he had told me before he died, 'Celestia, the city of Angels, that's where you and Amy must go,' I could only cry, 'I believe in you Max, you are brave and you have a good heart,' he smiled, ' I might not be with you, but you must continue the journey, you must find the land guarded by truth and justice...you must find Celestia and take your sister with you. It is the only place you can be safe.'

I was torn. Was there a place like Celestia? Was there a place of hope in this dark gloomy world? Was there a haven in this catastrophe? All I could see around me was doom and darkness and to think a place filled with light and fountains and laughter and singing existed in this world was hard to believe.

'Find Celestia,' was the last thing he said with a smile on his face, 'Find Celestia.'