Hidden away in the center of the universe is a world known as the Skylands. The Skylands are a numberless archipelago of islands that float in a sea of blue sky. Magic flows through every being in its vast realms, from the plants and animals to the minerals and sheep, and adventure lies around every corner. Nothing is what it seems, and every day is like a fantasy.

As beautiful as they seem, the Skylands are far from the utopia one may imagine, for they are constantly under attack from all kinds of evil. After all, from Skylands, you can have access to any place in the universe—and anyone who vies for world conquest, worldwide destruction or any other widescale plan will definitely make it their first stop. Thankfully, this world is not defenseless by any means.

The portal masters, powerful beings who can control magical portals and have magical abilities far beyond anyone's imagination, have defended Skylands alongside the Skylanders—inhabitants of Skylands who have pledged their lives to protecting their home alongside the portal masters—for as long as anyone could remember. Among those portal masters are Master Eon, current guardian of Skylands and possibly one of the greatest portal masters of all time. For years he dutifully defended Skylands alongside his Skylanders, and under his watchful eyes Skylands has entered an era of peace.

But this era was soon to end, as Eon was now the last good portal master on Skylands and very weak with age. Despite his best efforts, his worst fears continue to haunt him—evil will prevail over good, and Skylands will be the first to suffer the fallout. And much to his horror, those fears came true one day…

§

It was a peaceful day in the Skylands—or at least, it started out like one. Children played outside, workers enjoyed their lunch breaks, and all took in the beautiful day. The sun shone bright as ever, cares were cast aside in favor of rest and reprieve, and the number of fears and worries that seemingly everyone held were as non-existent as clouds in the never-ending skies…

Well, save for one ominous, smoky, dark gray cloud that lingered in the sky like an unwanted insect.

On the heralded island known as Ancient's Peak, which bustled with life despite the lackadaisical nature of the day, a man stared up at the skies from his citadel with a deepening frown and tightened hands. This man had blue eyes, pale, wrinkled skin, a large nose and a long, snow white beard. He wore a light blue gown under a pale blue sash decorated with the symbols of each Skylandian element with a blue Viking-esque helmet with six horns, and around him resonated a faint air of awe and power, as if one was in the presence of a king or other sort of leader.

"Master Eon!" shouted a furry brown mole who wore an oversized green jacket and thick-rimmed black glasses as he ran up to the man. "Those clouds! They look strange, is something wrong?"

"Hugo," Master Eon answered as he looked down at Hugo. "When have you known dark, boiling, ominous clouds to be a good thing?"

Hugo bit his lip as he glazed over the smoky clouds, which only grew larger and smokier by the second. "Er, that's true, Master—" Hugo looked up and leaped back with a scream, "—WHAT IN SKYLANDS IS THAT?!"

Alarmed by Hugo's shock, Master Eon whipped his head around and fixed his eyes on the skies once more. As the smoky clouds expanded right before his eyes, he focused his gaze on a dark blue light shimmer in existence before it formed into a large, holographic head!

This large head was a bright blue in color with pupil-less eyes, a hooded head with no sign of hair, and a tattooed face. Its features brimmed with a blend of malevolence and sheer pride, and all around it resided a presence of pure evil.

"Tremble before me, Eon!" Ordered the head with a voice menacing and booming. "I have come once again to destroy the Core of Light! And this time, nothing can stop me!"

"That is what you said the last thirty times, Kaos," Eon exclaimed back with a worn voice, "or was it fifty? I lost count,"—Eon paused to clear his throat—"but either way, we have stopped you every time and will continue to do so!"

Master Eon wrapped one wrinkly hand around the metal balcony and reached out his other hand. "It doesn't have to be this way, Kaos. You can turn back from evil, you can take a different path! It'll be much better for all of us!"

"Hmmm…" For a moment, Kaos paused. He pursed his lips in contemplation as he overlooked Master Eon's concerned figure and Hugo's trembling, terrified one before he broke out into a smirk. "How. About. NO!" Kaos cackled once more, "I'VE WANTED THIS FOR FAR TOO LONG, AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME FROM GETTING IT!"

As these words left Kaos's mouth, creatures of all kinds appeared on the island's front lawn in a heartbeat—brawny elves, stocky trolls, lanky cyclopes with sharp axes and spears… Whatever you could name, it was probably there.

Master Eon only pursed his lips as he gripped the railing of his balcony tight. "Hugo, send for the Skylanders immediately!" Master Eon ordered with clammy hands and darting eyes.

Hugo nodded with the utmost of urgency before he raced back within the citadel's walls, slammed a bright red button on a podium and dove down an inconspicuous hole.

"Fine then! If you want to fight, Kaos, then we shall!" Master Eon glared towards Kaos, only for his serious gaze to change to a puzzled frown. "And why is your head so big? It looks ridiculous!"

§

Trapped within the thick, smoky clouds was a giant, floating castle decked out to the nines in all sorts of evil decor—intimidating stone towers crafted with luminescent blue stone, an imposing rooftop decked in spiky thorns, windows that glared with an ominous yellow light, and more all decorated the castle’s surface and added to its ominous aura. However, the most evil things resided not around this castle, but within. There, Kaos sat and orchestrated his grand, master plan... Well, if he wasn't busy arguing with Master Eon, that is.

"WHAT!? HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT MY GIANT FLOATING HEAD!" Kaos shouted as he violently pointed at his portal. "IT TOOK ME ALL WEEK TO PERFECT IT, YOU FOOLISH FOOL WITH NO APPRECIATION FOR FINER MAGIC! FEAR IT, FEAR IT I TELL YOU!"

As it turned out, Kaos was actually a bald and dumpy man with sickly, pale skin nothing alike the malevolent picture he painted. His eyes were cherry red with a black masklike tattoo around them, and his forehead bore teal, triangular tattoos all pointed towards a sole circle. At the time, he only wore a simple black robe and a scowl. Who could believe someone like him was the one behind all this?

"I told you it wasn't scary enough, master, but did you believe me?" said a lanky, green-skinned troll who wore tattered clothing as they swept the floors next to Kaos.

"Nobody asked you, Glumshanks." Kaos whipped his head around and glared at Glumshanks. "Now stop it. You're ruining the mood."

Glumshanks only sighed as he swept the floors once more. Not the most polite exchange, but that was to be expected—villains were not to be known for treating their minions politely and cordially, and Kaos was no exception to that rule.

Kaos, meanwhile, turned his head around to gaze back into his portal as his frown slowly faded.

"That fool Eon though he could get rid of me by banishing me to the Outlands, but he was wrong!" Kaos cackled as loud as he could, a sense of pure excitement in his voice.

"So. Very. Wrong."