Page 1 of Darkest Need

One Thousand and One Dark Nights

Once upon a time, in the future…

I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.

I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and

the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast

library at my father’s home and collectedthousands

of volumes of fantastic tales.

I learned all about ancient races andbygone

times. About myths and legends and dreams of all

people through the millennium. And the more Iread

the stronger my imagination grew until Idiscovered

that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually

become part of them.

I wish I could say that I listened to myteacher

and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I

would not be telling you this tale now.

But I was foolhardy and confused, showingoff

with bravery.

One afternoon, curious about the myth of the

Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to

see for myself if it was true that every dayShahryar

(Persian:??????,“king”) married a new virgin, andthen

sent yesterday's wife to be beheaded. It waswritten

and I had read that by the time he met Scheherazade,

the vizier's daughter, he’d killed onethousand

women.

Something went wrong with my efforts. Iarrived

in the midst ofthe story and somehow exchanged

places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had

never occurred before and that still to this day, I