This is the tale of the explosion which birthed the universe...

An old hand at travel through the Garden of Helios, the ogre Stane is approached by the young elf woman Charis, who finds her mind afflicted by a strange ailment that, one way or another, will begin to affect any mortal who remains in the Garden for too long.  But Charis cannot think long on this, as she is the next to be called upon for a tale, and she obliges with an ancient story of the World-Spirits of the Heliosphere, the origin of the twin world Pluto-Charon...

In the second half of Rill's tale, the runt Crumb finally reaches the Rat King's palace - but now that the smallest rat of the smallest clan stands before the strongest rat of the strongest clan, how will she go about her task of taking his might?

On the first leg of the crossing from Ganymede to Dione, one of the travelers - a merchant named Laura - is less than thrilled to find one of her traveling companions is also one of her most accomplished competitors.  Said competitor, a ratfolk named Rill, is far more philosophical about the situation, and takes the opportunity provided by their guide calling on him to tell the first story of the journey to relay a message to Laura, in the form of an old tale about a runt who sets out to topple a wicked king...

In the Heliosphere, the most affordable method of crossing between the worlds is to hire a fairie guide who will take you through the Garden, the mysterious dimension where the fair folk live.  Tarwin of Amblestop, a old farmer from a small village on Ganymede, one of the moons of Jupiter, has hired such a guide to take him to see his son on Dione, a moon orbiting Saturn.  The price he and his fellow travelers must pay for their passage is a simple one: each traveler must give the gift of a story.