The trek from the barren cliffside where the man had found himself
just two days before had been exhausting, but now the morning sun
glaring off the small stream below awoke his mind and senses.  As he
travelled away from the mighty mountain, the lifeless gray rock gave way
to stubborn weeds, conifers and furs, prickly shrubs, and finally this
lonely leg of the mountain overlooking a verdant, overwhelming prairie of
green adjacent to a mighty forest, which even from atop the mountain
seemed to stretch beyond the horizon.

  The events which had transpired over the last two days were more than
the confused wanderer could fathom.  He had no idea who or where he was.
He could guess nothing from his attire, as he was clothed in a simple
blue tunic, trousers, and cloak; standard fare for any traveller.
Except, of course, for the color.  Blue?  He had found himself face down
amidst a slide of rocks, with a nasty bruise on his head.  He did not
understand why we was on the mountain, why he had fallen, or how he had
survived.  He recovered a shattered wooden spear from the rocks below,
but all but the point was useless now.  Had this belonged to him?  Had he
been attacked?  He pocketed the point and decided that he would have to
descend from the mount if he ever hoped to survive.

  Kain (for Kain is who he is) had had little trouble in descending the
treacherous rocks above, and mercifully, he had discovered a clump of
blackberry bushes the evening before.  However, the sight of the flowing
water and warmth of the bright morning sun on Kain's damp cloak inspired
a new, terrible feeling of hunger and weakness.

  Fingering the spear point in his pocket gave him a new hope:  Surely
the stream below would have fish!  Kain bounded down towards the brook
and soon realized that it was much larger and farther away than he had
first guessed.  So much the better!  After a few minutes of scrambling,
he reached his goal.  A small river cut through the granite of the
mountain, flowing along its edge and out into the grassland.  As he
plunged headlong into the water, he immediately regretted it.  The water
coming from the springs of the great mountain did not warm as rapidly as
the surrounding air, and the shock of the cold water startled him into
a stupor.

  The river flowed smoothly however, and soon delivered him to the side
of the next bend.  As he travelled along its side, he monitored the
clear, blue water carefully for signs of life.  There!  He waded back in.
The long spear point and his surprisingly fast reflexes were all that was
required to catch what was to Kain a glorious feast.  He had no flint,
however, and could see no dead grass or twigs about.  Kain eyed the fish
thoughfully, and decided that he wanted to live.  Unlike a knife, the
point of the spear did not have a blade, and cleaning the fish was hard
work.  Kain left the scales and ate the meat right off the skin.  The
cold slippery flesh of the fish did not have a pleasant taste, but it
filled his stomach in a very satisfactory way.

  The warmth of the sun reminded Kain that he had slept only fitfully the
previous two nights, and he lay back against the rock, his eyes closing
immediately.

  Kain dreams of a room, made of wood rather than stone.  Within is a
bed, a dresser. a mirror, a desk, and many colorful tomes.  But there are
other shapes.  Boxes with small doors on them.  A strange, black rock,
which has a shiny side, and magical forms flitting across it.  A brown
flower, with four petals, growing from the ceiling.  And... there is a
shape like a man, sitting at the desk.  The man seems to be making music,
playing some simple percussion instrument, white, with strange symbols on
it, making a tap, tap, tap noise.  But the man's attention seems to be
focused, instead, upon a white rock, with a shiny side, remarkably similar
to the black rock on the other side of the room.  Walking closer, Kain sees
that the man is tall, and of average build.  He wears some kind of lens
upon his face, which distorts the image of the white rock.  'What manner of
magic is this?' Kain thinks.  But the man seated in front of him seems to
respond to his thoughts.  He turns, and smiles pleasantly.  Kain jumps.
'The face... He... I...'

  Kain awoke with a start.  The sun shone brilliantly from the zenith of
the heavens.  'Th... that face... my own...'