The gods created Diluvia as a perfect copy of Terra, immediately after the "Atlantean thing" destroyed the Terran enclave of Atlantis. Many races from space had sequestered themselves on Atlantis. The rest of the planet had been left untouched.

A few select humans were brought to Atlantis and it became obvious that, given the advantages of civilization, humans were as capable as the space-going races. Some began to openly question whether noninterference was the proper path. Others preferred the status quo. Matters came to a head when the Sisters of Destiny were born to the Monarch. Glory took one side and Paradox took the other. It became the sibling rivalry to end all sibling rivalries, or a world.

This led to the destruction of Atlantis around what, eons later, would be identified as 10000 BCE. The gods were not pleased. In addition to creating Diluvia, and including humans in its population, they made the space-going races agree to a compact that prohibited Diluvian interference on Terra.

But compacts and treaties are made to be interpreted, and broken, and not all gods are omniscient. From the beginning, some Diluvians meddled. Others were assigned to observe, trade with Terran humans in an unobtrusive manner, and report back to Adepts Five, who would then inform the Monarch.

Humanity on Terra burgeoned and developed. Many centuries later, Shakespeare's works became popular on Diluvia after the Folios were published in London. Over time, other Terran literature became popular and English became Diluvia's lingua franca.

Then, when the Internet came into being in the early 1980s and was fed into the Diluvian Backbone, fascination with Terra grew. So did disgust at the overcrowded planet's chaos and squalor. A debate raged. Should Terra be destroyed, saved, or left alone to self-destruct?

Then the Adornments of Glory, three ancient artifacts with the power to open the portals between Diluvia and Terra wide were stolen and taken to Terra. If they weren't returned, chaos would reign on Diluvia, and as it did on Terra.

So a quest was undertaken and a party chosen to go to Terra in order to return the Adornments. Feldspar, daughter of Belinda, was chosen to lead it. Some opposed that appointment, including Feldspar's mother.

*This novel was originally published in 2002 and written between 1997 and 1999. At that time, it was written in a present-day setting. The 2025 revision adds about 2,000 words and changes about 2,000 words, and remains a novel set late in the previous millennium.*