Once, long, long ago, doorways were opened, connecting our world with another world called Aldenmor, a world full of magic and inhabited by magical animals and creatures of all sorts. It was a kind of symbiotic relationship: Aldenmor had magic, and creatures imbued with magic; our world had humans who, being innate problem-solvers and creative thinkers, were capable of using the magic. Humans who were particularly tuned to magic worked together with the magical animals, creating wondrous places like Atlantis, where fantastic creatures such as unicorns, fairies, mermaids, and dragons roamed freely.

As humans learned more about magic, some became corrupt, coveting magical power for evil. When some of these evil ones crossed into the magical world, a group of magic masters followed. They succeeded in vanquishing the evil ones, but in the process, locked closed all the gateways between worlds to protect Aldenmor. What became of these good mages still remains a mystery; they seemed to have simply disappeared. With the gateways locked shut, the flow of magic between worlds stopped, and gradually the people of Earth forgot about magic. All the fabled magical creatures became the stuff of legend and myth. Only a few dedicated masters and their descendants kept the memories alive, setting up Watcher stations to keep an eye on the gateways, watching for signs of open doors. Through the years, legends and stories tell of creatures spotted like Sasquatch, or the Loch Ness Monster. According to Watcher Journals, these creatures and others came through portals from somewhere along the Web of Magic.

On Aldenmor, evil has risen again. Because the locking of the portals had cut Aldenmor off from the magic web, a descendant of the magic masters has been "strip-mining" the world of much of its magic. Now, much of the magic has been used up beyond its natural abilities to replenish itself. Desperate to find magic to sustain and continue to build her power, the Dark Sorceress is trying to break the magic locks, allowing her access to the Magic Web. Somewhere along the web is the source of all magic, a mysterious hidden place of legend called Avalon. If she can find this place and use its magic, her power would be unstoppable. But no one knows where Avalon is.

This Dark Sorceress has been capturing animals and creatures of Aldenmor and focusing their magic through huge crystals. But the perverted magic could not be contained and these crystals exploded, creating a "mushroom cloud" of evil magic — black fire — that is now spreading and poisoning Aldenmor like radiation fallout. The explosion has managed to crack the magic locks between worlds, and portals are starting to open and close at random.

Creatures that have survived the black fire are fleeing into our world through a gateway into an old wildlife preserve, located on a scared ancient Indian site in a small town in what is now known as Pennsylvania.

Good creatures aren't the only ones able to cross into our world. Evil ones can, too — including minions of the Dark Sorceress. Worse yet, the tainted magic that is poisoning Aldenmor could spread to Earth — which could destroy life here as we know it. Already, in the woods surrounding the wildlife sanctuary, hideously twisted trees are appearing, and animals are growing sick and dying. Now both our world and Aldenmor are in danger. The extent of the magical blast is still being felt as it has also weakened gates in other places, and now they are beginning to crack open.