Even when the Earth Dragon Caldor collided with Lossi, the goddess Onedia was still annoyed and bored with her role in the grand scheme of things. But one day, as she gazed into her Dark Mirror, the Caldorian god Aloquin appeared to her and promised that if she would set him free, they could rule all of Lossi and Caldora together. Aloquin was trapped in the Land of Illusions , and since Onedia oversaw all things pertaining to that realm, she easily set him free. He told her that in order to set his plan into motion, she would need to go to Iyutel, the capital of the Forestside Kingdom , and take the place of its late Queen. In the meantime, he would gain a foothold in the North Forest .

Onedia reigned as Queen alongside the King for over seven years before Aloquin contacted her again. Late at night he came to her, and gave her a list of herbs with which to poison the King and seize the throne. But the King’s most loyal servant, Lance, had suspected the new Queen of treachery and spied on her as she brewed the deadly concoction. Still, he was uncertain of her intentions, and since falsely accusing royalty meant death, he could do nothing as Onedia disappeared into the imperial bedroom. He looked on helplessly as Onedia rushed out of the chambers, wailing and sobbing that the King is dead.

Ashamed and appalled, Lance snuck out of the palace grounds, along the backstreets of Iyutel, and to his familiar cottage where his wife Gwen and toddler son awaited him. The next day they awoke and rushed to the main street to observe the King’s Funeral Procession. But Lance was guilt-ridden and could not stay silent. He strode out into the middle of the street and openly accused the Queen of treason. The entire procession came to a halt, a wave of shocked whispers swept through the crowd, and Onedia was seething with rage. Gwen stepped in to defend Lance, but the Queen shot down her appeals and sentenced them both to exile in the Enchanted Forest along with their son.

Brainwashed guards stepped out of the procession and prodded Lance and Gwen with their spears to start the long trek to the forest. The Funeral Procession resumed without further interruptions. Upon reaching the borders of the woods, the guards forced Lance and Gwen inside. What the couple didn’t know was that the forest was cursed so that no non-magical being could ever find its way out. In this way they wandered in circles until nightfall, and set up camp in a clearing.

Night was the time of the Dark Sidhe and the tricksters, neither of which took kindly to trespassers in their realm. The faery Kirune knew this, and knew also that the stranded couple had with them an innocent child. She entered the clearing, and lured the toddler away with her to Faeryland. When the faery had gone, tricksters came out of the shadows. One took the form of a fearsome troll and the other the form of the missing child. They awakened Gwen, and she immediately gave chase, waking up Lance in the process. He tried to follow, but they got separated in the dark woods, and killed by disguised changelings.

Meanwhile, Kirune brought the child before the Seelie Court of Elfame, before the Faery Queen Erunei herself. Erunei gave him the name Lakai, and granted him the gifts of clairvoyance, telepathy, empathy, creativity, and protection. He grew up alongside the rest of the fey, in an enchanting land where time stood still, but became more and more curious about the outside world as he aged. To save him from being ripped apart by the tricksters and changelings laying in wait past Faeryland’s borders, Queen Erunei handed Lakai over to the visiting faeries from Caldora’s East Forest . They brought him with them to their capital city of Acrela , and soon enough Aloquin got word of the amazing psychic child.

Lance and Gwen were the first, but would not be the last citizens of the Forestside Kingdom to be exiled to the Enchanted Forest . Onedia ruled the land with an iron fist, and anyone suspected of subversion were quickly eliminated. Those that remained cowered in fear behind closed doors, believing the status quo would never change. No longer did they have the courage to speak their mind, no longer did they dare to hope for a brighter future, no longer did they wait for a knight in shining armor to come and rescue them from the witch’s evil spell. The only thing left to do was stubbornly survive in the face of Onedia’s merciless assault on their collective psyche.