Prologue: Lan. It May Start Soon

This is the prologue of Heroes: The New Level. It's not necessary to read in order to understand Heroes: The New Level, but later books will involve this.

It May Start Soon
My name is Lan Castle.

''I've spent the past few years here - it wasn't my choice... Actually, it was. I had the chance to make the right decision, and I chose not to.''

''Or, maybe not. I made the wrong decision, but the wrong decision turned out to be best for everyone. When I realized that, all I had to do was make the right choice, which I did. Turning to the dark side is awful, but it gives you a lot of room to improve. The big question was what would come after I made the right decision.''

''"Ekahau," a voice whispered to me. "Odin, Mercury, Min, Chung-kuei, Dosojin, Hermes, Ganesha."''

''I flinched, wondering how my friend Ian knew those names - I didn't even know most of them. "Ian, where are you?"''

''Ian came up to me, looking at me with one eye closed, like he didn't want to know what the world would look like through two eyes. "Here, why? What's up?"''

''Ian was a lot like me - he'd made the same awful choices in the past that I did - decisions that may be the reason why everything's so bad. But, like me, he had made the right decision when it came down to it. He didn't get much out of it - neither did I, really, except for the fact that we both knew we did the right thing.''

''"The voice again," I said. "The one who said..."''

''"The names of all those gods?" Ian guessed. "Maybe you're gettin' some sort of divine message, Lan."''

''"No." It was all I could do not to shout at him. "I'm not going to be part of any godly plan and you know it. I was every bit as awful as you were - probably worse. Scratch that, definitely worse. At least you stuck to your goals. Your promises. Your friends."''

''"No," Ian pointed out. "They weren't my friends. Not like you are. Or... you-know-who."''

''A figure came up to me. I tensed. "What do you want?"''

''"Resentful," he mumbled. "So the boy lied."''

''"No!" I interrupted. "He was telling the truth. It's just... old habits die hard. I'm sorry."''

''He beamed, then regained his calm. "Listen, um... I believe you now go by the name Lan? Listen, Lan. Danger is coming - danger far greater than any the world has known for centuries. You must play a critical role in this."''

''I thought for a moment. "How critical?"''

"If you succeed in your journey, you will have done even greater than the one who put you here."

"What about Ian?"

"He will stay here for the time being. Fate has other plans for him. Your destiny begins now."

"I'm in."

Additive Words
Here are some questions to ponder after reading this chapter. Who are Lan and Ian? Who was the man who came to them? What secrets do they both hold? Why was the entire prologue italicized? What is Lan's supposed destiny? What dangers are coming? How is Lan involved?

And the big one - what will chapter one be like?

Here are some links to get you into it.

Heroes: The New Level

Chapter One: Tara. Some Weird Kid Fights Something