Shadow the Hedgehog, once known as the ultimate life form, was now nothing but another person walking the roads of Araen. Not just another person, but another of the mamman race. He had a much higher title in his race before now, not even under the status of the ultimate life form, but as king of the province known as Mobius. Mobius is where all the mammus originated from, and it is where Shadow was released from a long captivity years before. Once he was released, he worked with the armies of men and elves, rather than against them when he was originally created. Shadow was able to overcome all the mysteries of his own existence, and regain a stable mental state. With his power and his intelligence, he was soon promoted to king of Mobius after slaying a Dark Lord known as Mephiles, Mephiles the dark. With help from his two friends, Sonic and Silver, he was able to stop Mephiles from causing devastation to Araen.

But that is a tale for another time...

Once Shadow became king, he based his power on fairness as well as security. He was a strict leader, but a very good leader. He turned Mobius into the center of trading on the planet of Araen. His home, inside of the castle of the Bestia Mountain, was completely flooded with gold and gems. The most important gem of them all, the chaos emerald, was planted above the throne of the steward, Knuckles the Echidna, for him to watch over for the rest of his days.

Things in Mobius remained stable for awhile, but the greed of others in the world causes unpredictable catastrophe. Bowser the dragon, led his armies into the province, where they raided everything. His armies of orcs and goblins burned down homes, killed innocent lives, and stole the riches and supplies they needed. Shadow, never being one to surrender, unleashed his armies on the orcs and goblins. It was nearly successful; both armies were slithered down into a handful of survivors, but the dragon was still alive and very powerful. Nothing could destroy it. Not swords, bows, cannons, not anything. Bowser swept through the mammus with ease, and left it a wasteland. Shadow was forced to retreat, leaving the chaos emerald behind.

The aftermath of this was a pure loss for the mammus. Many eventually found homes in other regions, and many attempted to try and take back the mountain with force, but none succeeded. Bowser has since then lived and slumbered within the Bestia mountain. The foul creature has all the riches in the world, but he simply wanted to become a legendary evil, which he was. He did nothing with the gold beside sleep under it. His greedy hunger had become satisfied, but not Shadow's.

Shadow never forgot about that day, He sought vengeance against the dragon. He made plans that were never commenced. He made promises that were never fulfilled. Whenever he slept, he heard the cries of his people and the burning of his home. He would not stop fighting until he either died or got his home back.

On Hearthfire the twenty-eighth, 2176 of the third age (September 28, 2176 AD on Earth time) Shadow the Hedgehog was spotted in the town of Riverwood. Riverwood was a very small village, and there wasn't much to it. It had nothing special, besides it rained nearly every night in that area. On this night, Shadow walked through the rain without a cloak or anything to keep him from being wet. At this point, Shadow simply didn't care. He stepped through puddles of water and mud that splashed all over his boots as he arrived at the entrance of Riverwood. He was equipped with a backpack of supplies, a pistol holster where he carried a Colt Magnum 1911 (very rare weapon in Araen), and a baldric over his right shoulder that carried his sword. At this point in time, Shadow was simply traveling from town to town, trying to find shelter and food. It used to be a very uncommon occurance for a mamman to be spotted outside of Mobius, but now that they were scattered all over the place, you could find one almost anywhere.

When Shadow entered the borders of Riverwood, he wasn't so suprised to see residents begin to stare. He was suprised of how many people were wandering the streets at this hour, especially with the heavy rain, but he just ignored it. Many of the people who caught their eye on Shadow recognized him; some even stepped away. He used to be one of the most feared creatures alive, and people understood that he didn't wish to be bothered after all the things that had happened to him. Many did stare, but they only stared at the black hedgehog walking straight forward to his destination, pretending to notice absolutely nothing at all. He did not glance at anyone, nor did he think about anyone's business besides his own. Shadow had one hundered gold coins in his backpack, which he was sure could definetley get him through the night. Most hotels that he stayed at in villages like this charged only ten to fifteen coins per night. He was fine with prices like that, but he also needed a meal, for he hadn't eaten in almost four days.

Shadow arrived at the steps of the Sleeping Giant Inn, which was adjacent to the back entrance of Riverwood. He stepped to the side of the front door to gaze through the window, and sighed when he saw the place was crowded. What did he expect? It was a dark Fredas (Friday) night, and that's when people would barge into every bar in Araen, only to forget what happened the next morning. Shadow looked around, and realized it was his only choice, so he entered. The first thing he saw made him regret that he even stepped foot inside of Riverwood. He saw six men crowded in front of the bar, barking orders at the poor bartender. Shadow sighed and searched for the first available seat that he could find. Luckily, there was one close to the door, in case he changed his mind at any time. He set everything he carried aside his chair, and plopped down on the seat. He sighed in relief, and he was extremely relaxed. All of the tight and sore muscles in his legs immediatley soothed, and Shadow dropped his head back and closed his eyes. He had been walking for nearly eight hours, and he was exhausted.

Shadow had accidentaly drifted to sleep for a moment, but it was no use to try and get any rest. Whenever Shadow slept, his mind was constantly attacked with agonizing memories of his past. He couldn't get three hours in without having painful nightmares, in this case not just three minutes.

He was grasping her hand as he raced down the hallway. When he looked to the left side, all he could see was a shining window that showed the emptiness of space. When he looked to the right, he saw a metal wall with strange circuits and buttons that he never really understood the purpose of. He could have easily outrun the special forces chasing after them, but he was forced to keep a steady pace in order to ensure the safety of his only friend, a child who was a few inches taller then himself. She had bright blue eyes and golden blonde hair, and she was wearing a small blue blouse with a bright blue skirt. She panted as she ran with him, grasping his right hand, trying to keep up. They were safe for awhile until they reached a dead end, where there was a sealed door to a secret room that Shadow himself didn't even know the code to. Just as he turned to Maria, he noticed the footsteps of the guards racing towards them. He stared them down, and he was ready to fight. Before he could even make a move, one of the guards pulled out a pistol. He aimed, and he fired.

"Maria!"

Shadow woke up in a cold sweat and panted heavily. He had only been asleep for six minutes. He noticed that a tall, grey bearded man stood in front of him, watching him. The man stood at a high six feet five inches, and had a dark grey beard that went down to his stomach. He was an elderly fellow, and he wore grey robes that matched with his long dark hair.

"Mind if I sit?" the man politely asked.

Shadow, still panting, collected his thoughts quickly and regained a stable mental state. He sat up and nodded, not even looking at the man. The old man sat down in front of Shadow, and stared at him while Shadow looked at the ground.

"I should introduce myself," the man started. "My name is Gandalf. Gandalf the Grey."

"I know who you are," Shadow replied. "What is it that you need?"

Gandalf smirked. "It is not what I need," he said. "It is what you need, Shadow."

"I work alone," Shadow snapped. "Unless you have information regarding my father, I suggest you step off."

"It has been years since anything was said about your father apart from rumor, lad."

"He still lives," Shadow said, looking Gandalf dead in the eye. "I know it!"

Shadow did have a small area in his brain for a false hope that his creater, scientist Gerald Robotnik, was still alive. But it was a false hope. His mind had become so mentally unstable after the attack on Mobius that even though he saw footage of his creator being executed, he still followed rumors that he was alive. He wanted to find his creator and discover more about his past before he went on to take back his throne. For once, he put himself before his people, which is not something he was known to do.

After a long silence, Gandalf pulled out a piece of ragged dirty paper. He handed it over to Shadow, who looked over it carefully. He saw a picture of Shadow himself, along with large markings above the photo, and smaller ones below it.

"This is Elvish," Shadow growled. "What does it say?"

"It's a bounty," Gandalf warned. "For your head."

"And how do I know you aren't hear to claim that bounty?" Shadow asked Gandalf, looking him dead in the eyes once more. Gandalf saw a flame glow in the pupils of Shadow the Hedgehog.

"I see that the force is strong with you, but you will use it in the wrong way," Gandalf said. "You need to understand my code of life. I only attack in self defense. I am a Jedi Knight."

"I said I know who you are!" Shadow growled immediatley after Gandalf finished his sentence.

"I am here because I worry about you! I don't want you do be killed and I don't want to see you hurt yourself or anyone else? You need to take back what is yours!"

Shadow sat back, calm this time. "The mountain?"

"Yes, the mountain," Gandalf informed. "Gather the survivors we have left and we must go and defeat the dragon!"

"You seem to forget, master Jedi, that the dragon can not be killed without the power of the Chaos Emerald, which is locked deep inside that ocean of gold where Bowser slumbers."

"That is why we need a burglar..."