Once upon a time there was a man, named Tom Joebob, who feared Death more than anything.

Now, Tom Joebob was a clever man. He knew the ways of chemicals and machines and all manner of other sciences. But no matter how hard he searched and studied and experimented, he could find no weapon that could defeat Death.

Soon enough the hour came for Death to take him. In desperation, Tom Joebob called out to a being he had never allowed himself to believe in: Fate, the Author of all reality. And in that hour, Fate responded.

"I will give you a weapon that can defeat Death," he answered. "This is my cost: that you do not keep it to yourself. You must give of it to all that ask of it."

Tom Joebob accepted that offer gladly, for it seemed a generous one indeed. He hated Death, and would have shared the weapon even without asking. And so, when Death knocked on his door, he revealed the weapon Fate had given him. And Death fled, for it is a truth that Fate always keeps his bargains.

But if Tom Joebob had heeded the tales regarding Fate in more detail, he would have allowed Death to take him. For another truth regarding Fate is that no matter how great the need, a bargain with Fate always ends in regret. And so of course it would be with Tom Joebob, in the end.

In the beginning, of course, there was fame and honor and glory, as there so often is. Tom Joebob honored his bargain with Fate, sharing his weapon with all those who feared Death. And there were many indeed who feared Death. Tom Joebob was praised by all and richly rewarded.

The price, when it began to manifest, was not noticed at first. A darkness in