The Chosen One

Prologue

Prologue

Ascended Realms

Emperor Shay’tan

SHAY'TAN

The two old gods bent over the sparkling silver galaxy which spun in space, contemplating their next move. So they had done since time immemorial, god and the devil, two ancient adversaries locked forever in a game of chess.

The larger of the two deities, an enormous red dragon, moved a black pawn into the path of a white rook.

"You're out of pawns!" Shay'tan rumbled.

"Court pieces are worth more than pawns!" His white-robed adversary easily overtook it. "They can outmaneuver them."

"Ahh…." Shay’tan's snout transformed into a predatory grin. "You don't have enough respect for your pawns. No matter how powerful your court pieces—" he moved a second black pawn to overtake the rook "—you will never have enough of them. Especially if you keep throwing them away on trivial moves."

He dropped the unfortunate rook into his growing pile of conquests which lay scattered around his throne like broken toys. The Eternal Emperor Hashem feigned an indignant expression.

"I'm using superior pieces to employ a superior strategy!" he said. "Really, Shay'tan. You think too short-term to grasp the subtleties!"

"Winning is about the numbers!" Shay'tan laughed. "He, who has the most chess pieces, wins."

The Emperor's bushy eyebrows bunched together in concentration. He scrutinized a black rook orbiting a planet deep in the uncharted territories.

"What are you up to, you old devil?"

Shay’tan feigned his most innocent smirk, his long red tail twitching like a cat stalking a mouse. Hashem picked up a white knight and considered his next move. Shay'tan's grin disappeared as he recognized which chess piece his opponent intended to bring into play. His leathery wings jutted outward as Hashem moved the white knight towards his greatest prize.

"White knight to Zulu Sector three…"

"Oh no you don't!"

Shay’tan grabbed his black rook and slammed it down onto the galaxy, knocking the white knight out of the sky.

The room convulsed.

The ceiling disappeared into a canopy of blinding white light.

"Shay'tan!" a woman shrieked. "You were supposed to wait your turn!"

A vague golden shape became visible in the heavens, looming over them as though they, themselves were chess pieces on a much larger board. With a twist of her wrist, She-Who-Is stripped them of their foreknowledge and cast them back into the galaxy to see how their manipulations played out in the galactic empires they both ruled.