The Rubbish Realm

Prologue

Prologue
From the writings of Basilius, magistrate of the second order

         You seek the legend of Brady Hemlinson, destroyer of both worlds, enemy of the legendary Evander, creator of the chasm? I must warn you, it is not to be taken lightly.
         It all started ten years before the Great Destruction - with a cave. A cave that would go down - no, has gone down, in infamy. A cave that nearly ended the worlds.
         He strode in that morning, clad in regular old spelunking gear. Just him and his best friend Robert (may he rest in peace), determined to explore the unknown and have the time of his life.
He certainly got that.
         The dark, dismal dampness of the dusky cave infected his attitude. Depressed, he lost his exit rope and his headlamp wouldn’t turn on, no matter how many times he whacked it. Stuck down there, looking around to see if there was any way out, anything he could do to try to save himself - and he made what was both the best discovery and the worst discovery of his entire life. Something caught the corner of his eye, according to legend. Something bright. Something calling to him. Something that knew his name.
         Having nothing better to do, he followed whatever it was, up the tunnel, running out of oxygen - but unfortunately for us all, he made it to the source. It seemed to be a shimmering bracelet, and even as he looked at it, he knew exactly what it was - Etherealorister, Beresford’s Bane, the most powerful artifact in existence… that had been hidden in the cave for a reason. It glowed - sentient, all-knowing, alive. And then it spoke.
         “I’ve been waiting a long time for you, Brady Hemlinson.”
         That one line shaped the course of history… and oh, how I wish it had never happened. How I wish Robert could have stayed with him, his best friend that had gone in with him, the one that kept hold of the line and made it out to report Brady’s apparent death. The one that still mourned for him all the way up until he found out he was alive again - and then mourned for what he had become.
         But it did happen, and Brady did what you or I would have done - fainted. It may have been the worst scare in all of history, and it was certainly no accident. It knew what it was doing.
         He never did tell Robert, though he tried very hard to forget him. But some things are easier said than done. And some things… should never have been done at all.