Book excerpt: The Grid is a mystical nexus, a crossroads connecting all times and all realities. Along the ley lines of the Grid, the multiverse clusters. To move along the Grid is to move from one reality to the next. To harness the power of the Grid is to harness the awesome might of creation. Five touchstone realities exist at focal points along the Grid. From each of these realities, a Warlock is chosen to act as one of five Guardians. Savasthar, a shapeshifting dragon-like being. Doomidor, a warlord from the Dark Ages. Argon, an advanced cybernetic organism from a techno-hell. Tanith, an ageless sorceress. Zania, a power-mad, machine gun necromancer. Together, the Warlocks protect the Grid, thereby protecting all of space and time. They are the last line of defense against the awful forces of chaos that lurk in the darkness outside the Grid. There's only one problem. They hate each other.