After the narrative begins with a young boy showing off his prized “magical” possessions in his room, author Kevan Peterson opens a window into the life of Danny Flash and his friends and family. After outlining their daily life, however, the book takes an unseen twist (if you don’t look at the cover) and introduces an alien, short and stout, who is on a quest for seeds.
The story opens on a tranquil scene as a figure paddles through the rain. The person in question, a girl who goes by the name Alethea, arrives at a town near the water. She gets out of her boat and is greeted with hugs, kisses, and general appreciation that she has arrived—it turns out she is a bard. After being wrapped in blankets and showered with love, she is encouraged to tell a story, but not just any story.
Jack Stone is an ordinary guy, living an ordinary life, with a semi-ordinary family. He has no mother but lives with his uncle and genius father, who strangely has become very ill when Jack’s life changed abruptly. When Jack’s father becomes ill after coming home from his lab, Jack begins to worry, but now, after it has been quite a few days, Jack is relieved when his father tells him he wants to show him something. What he sees changes his life forever; his father has created a Rift Tunnel Machine.
In the time of Rome, Guiamo Durmius Stolo - just another ordinary Roman boy - is abandoned by his uncle in Gaul. Now alone, Guiamo begins to wander aimlessly on the road, heading to a destination he does not know. After wandering for a while, he meets a fisherman who takes him in, teaching him the ways of fishing, and eventually recognizes the talent the boy possessed. After some time has passed, he sends Guiamo once more on the road, but this time to a friend who will teach Guimo even more than the fisherman could.
