• In the deepest parts of uncharted space the void lay quiet. Solar storms were the only visitors in that darkness and it had been a while since the black depths had been disturbed.
    Parsecs away, in the very heart of the darkest gloom, a solar storm boiled its way into that massive void, and it was there that Tiberius, the most renown Guardian, opened his eyes.

    The very first image that appeared in my consciousness was a light...a powerful, strong light. Then I experianced my first sensation of feeling. My body, (for I had one now) was burning with intense heat.
    At first, I didn't comprehend it all. Was I in agony, or was I in ecstasy?
    Then, the light was gone. My proverbial umbilical cord cut and when I began to float free, the only arms to recieve me were the cold outer reaches of empty darkness.
    My new body was thrumming with the life that light had given me, but beyond myself I could not see anything other then the void.
    Where was I to go?
    I closed my eyes, purposefully soothing my disquieted spirit. All the knowledge the light had given me when I was born was suddenly flowing into my mind without hesitation.
    I was a Guardian...an elite member of the natural Task Force against Darkness. I would soon learn all that i would need to know in the ongoing war.
    But for the moment, all I needed to know was my name.
    I am Tiberius.

    The light equipped me with beautiful metallic skin and fiery wings...perfect fo travel in space. I was able to fly for several light-years before needing sustenance.
    But was there Light in the surrounding Parsecs of that empty void?
    Tiberius...Tiberius...
    I stoped mid-flight. Millions of light-years away I could hear the sounds of countless distant voices singing my name.
    "I am here!" I called out to them, hoping they could hear me.
    Tiberius...Tiberius... the voices merely continued singing.
    Before disappointment could settle in I began to feel a pressure in the atmosphere around me. It was as if invisible hands were rushing my way.
    Mere minutes later I was in the middle of a gravitational pull towards distant space. The voices were calling out to me, trying to bring me to them.
    Without the aid of my wings I was flying at an incalculable pace. Pure joy clutched at my chest as I rushed towards the voices.
    All those millions of light-years later I finally beheld stars and solar systems. Microscopic, sparkling strands of light connected them all. It was as if a colossal spider had come along and woven a web in the middle of space.
    "Tiberius!" A voice hailed me, and it took me only a moment to know that it came from the nearest star.
    With a blissful smile I happily inhaled the light it sent my way. My golden skin glistened happily in the radiant luminosity.
    But even as I drew near to the closest solar system the gravitational pull kept its hands bound to me tightly. I felt it pull me up higher and higher in space, where there were no systems, only millions and millions of stars.
    As it pulled me even higher I noticed the stars grew closer together and multiplied. I was whizzing faster into the glowing atmosphere and I beheld a wonder.
    That was when I first glimpsed the Firmament.
    Twelve glowing specters greeted me at the glittering gate. "We welcome you, newest Guardian."
    The Twelve spoke as one, their white hands at their sides and their pure white eyes staring into me. I thought I could feel their gazes peircing my heart.
    "What is your name?" The middle specter inquired. He had the richest, deepest voice of them all.
    "I am Tiberius." I knelt, somehow feeling it to be the proper action.
    I heard one of them smile. Somehow, she smiled without laughing, but allowed me to hear it. "We are the Council of Twelve, Young Tiberius. We hope to be seeing quite a lot of you in the coming millennia. But for now, you must begin training to be the warrior you were prophesied to be."
    Prophesied? My mind cried. I did not know that my coming had been foretold.
    Perhaps that was the reason the Stars were able to find me and reach out to me in the darkest part of space.
    "Go Tiberius. We will look forward to your triumphant return." The first specter nodded and the gravitational pull took me from the glorious Firmament to where I would train.