[Oh. Oops. She'd meant for it to sound more like a legend and less like...well. Her recent past.]

The world is shrinking because Alchemy, the force that keeps it alive, was sealed away a long time ago, to protect its power from the ambitious. [Alex.] There are four lighthouses, one for each element, and when all of them are lit, Alchemy will be unsealed again.

That is what the kidnappers, and the heroes, ultimately want...wanted to do. Unseal Alchemy and start restoring the world.