Prelude (40-4 BR)
40 years before Book 1, two Zebra twins were born in Zulundi on Planet Squid. One was named Jermie, the other was named Tristan. They both had an unusual mutation, which caused them to be so allergic to vegetables that they would literally melt if they so much as touched them. Tristan's mutation also caused him to be white with white stripes, allowing him to be neutral in tribal politics (Zebras black with white stripes and Zebras white with black stripes despised each other and often fought race wars, the latest one caused by city disputes after the mass exodus from Baobab during The Blood Bleaching). Jermie's mutation caused him to have his upper half be black with white stripes, while his lower half was white with black stripes. This caused Jermie to be confused about which side he was on. This constant confusion caused Jermie to constantly seek escapism from tribal politics.
Jermie's Uprising (4 BR)
He eventually found it in the form of an Aztlanian Black Sun Priestess who was visiting the planet. The priestess taught him Shadow Magic without an artifact, corrupting his soul and turning him into an evil, manipulative, psychopath. Since Shadow Magic was illegal and he did not wish to be discovered, the first thing Jermie did when he was done mastering Shadow Magic was use it to murder the priestess. Meanwhile, Tristan proved extremely gifted with Astral Magic, becoming the planet's best Astral Magician. When the planet's current Witch Doctor (head of the Baobab Council) died, Tristan became the planet's Witch Doctor, winning the election in a massive landslide. Meanwhile, Jermie was teaching Shadow Magic to a large group of bored and disgruntled people, all without artifacts. This corrupted their souls, allowing him to bend them to his will. He eventually built an army this way, eventually outnumbering that of Haile Selassie, the King of the Landsquids. Jermie then ambushed Halie Selassie's army in Old Duvai Gorge, easily crushing it. Haile Selassie was killed, and his son, Prince Ukuza, escaped into the Savannah. Jermie went to Squid Town with his army and forced the inhabitants to crown him King of the Landsquids. Meanwhile, Ukuza eventually reached Baobab and informed Tristan of this. Tristan assembled the Baobab Council (this was before they were corrupt so they actually did things back then) and had them unite the planet's warring tribes and assemble an army to prevent Jermie from taking over the entire planet. Since Jermie and his army were still relatively lacking in the knowledge of how to prevent their own powers from running amok, Jermie accidentally blew up a large portion of Drum Jungle near Shining Mountain. The explosion was so large it could be seen from space. This alerted other planets to the issues going on on Planet Squid, raising concerns around the South Galaxy. On Arturia, King Arturius sent the Knights of the Square Table (who included Weasel and Michael at this point in time) to Planet Squid to assist Ukuza and Tristan. Meanwhile, Jermie used Shadow Water to create a lake on Shining Mountain called Mirror Lake, which was made of water but had a surface of magic semipermeable glass to prevent anyone besides Jermie and those with his permission from entering. Under this surface, Jermie built a large fortress from which he intended to rule Planet Squid. However, he had focused so much on building this palace that he did not notice that the Baobab Council and Knights of the Square Table had assembled an army much larger than his own. As a result, Jermie was defeated by this army at the Battle of Shining Mountain. Since his brother Tristan could not bring himself to order Jermie's death, Jermie was instead locked away in a maximum security prison deep in Drum Jungle.
Immediate Aftermath (4 BR-2 AR)
The key to the cell was entrusted to Weasel, the highest-ranking Knight of the Square Table. This key was codenamed the Key to the Jungle. Weasel was told to take the key back to Arturia and keep it with the Knights of the Square Table. However, his ship was blown off course by a meteor shower and forced to land on the backwater planet of Aurea after running out of fuel. Since his transmitter was also about to run out of battery, Weasel made a last-ditch call for help to King Arturius. Arturius told Weasel to remain on Aurea for the rest of his life and to keep watch over the Key to the Jungle so nobody could steal it and bust Jermie out of prison.
Later Aftermath (3 AR and later)
Years later, Weasel and his friends have killed Rhys, Ombra, and Whelan and have saved Aurea from repeated invasions by Tate's cronies (though they do not yet even know that Tate exists). However, Lane, the last of Tate's cronies from this mission, has escaped with both the remnants of the Tatian invasion force and the Key to the Jungle. He hands it off to Tate, who is tremendously proud of him. A few months later, Tate lands on Planet Squid, sets up camp in Drum Jungle, and sneaks into the prison under the cover of night. He easily dispatches the prison guards and uses the Key to the Jungle to bust Jermie out of prison. In gratitude, Jermie offers to teach Tate Shadow Magic if Tate helps Jermie become King of Planet Squid.