The Last Horizon

The Monastery

Henry was searching for a way. He passed through the jungle, going wherever his eyes could see. He was lost, hungry and thirsty, beginning to lose hope, when he heard a strange jingle of bells somewhere in the distance. Full of joyful hope, he ran towards the sound. To his surprise, he saw an ancient Malankara Church monastery. Just as he reached it, he fainted from exhaustion at the gates. A monk was taking care of Henry while he was delirious, lying on the monastery bed. Henry had a vision of Paradise, a perfect Garden of Eden, serene and beautiful. He saw the divine splendor of the garden, and in Paradise, the Creator - the Word Himself was walking.

Meanwhile, at the healer’s house, Artemis and Olson were drinking herbal tea with the doctor, as he told them the story of creation.
“First, a third of the angels, then people followed the devil. After the fall, the whole world changed; it became imperfect, and life was poisoned with death. Lucifer continued to lead people astray and away from God. The fallen angels taught humanity much evil knowledge and wicked sorcery. The demons were worshipped as gods. They fell for human women and had offspring who built powerful civilizations. Many mythological kingdoms and ancient religions were created by the fallen angels. Even after the flood, when God decided to erase the wickedness that the fallen angels brought, demons continued to influence people, and evil survived and continued to flourish in people.” After saying this, Shuan Lang gave them some herbal tea and they fell asleep.

Art was lying down asleep at the healer’s house and dreaming. She saw a blue rose, growing by a mystic waterfall, and then she saw a throne - a divinely shimmering place - Paradise. Olson was dreaming of a cave filled with precious stones, gems and majestic treasure. Then he saw a great celebration, he was walking through the halls of a magnificent palace and everyone was congratulating him, throwing flowers and petals before him. Miles away, Henry saw a vision as well: a crystal sword was mysteriously hanging in the air in front of him, and as he reached for it he saw an awe inspiring sight - a land of perfect harmony appeared before his eyes. Delirious, Henry was saying strange words about the location of Eden. Then, he woke up in an unfamiliar place. A monk was praying for him.
“Where am I?” Henry asked the monk.
The monk continued to pray in silence, until it dawned on Henry that he was in the presence of a saint. At that moment, Henry passed out again.
   
“I had the most exhilarating dream!” exclaimed Artemis. She had just woken up and ran into Olson in the hallway, “I saw Paradise!” She declared. 
“What does it look like?” Olson inquired.
“Beyond anything we can imagine!”
“I also had a dream. I saw riches beyond my wildest dreams, and a celebration in an amazing palace,” said Olson excitedly. 
“Let’s go tell Shuan Lang.” Artemis said impatiently. Shuan Lang was sitting at the kitchen table. He calmly listened to their thrilled voices, as they told him the strange dreams, and then he spoke to them.
“I can help you find this divine kingdom, but you must take my advice. Paradise is not of this world. It is a spiritual kingdom that defies the world we live in. Be careful and beware, for it was the wrath of God and people’s disobedience that led to their exile; but don’t underestimate the power of God’s mercy. He granted you the glimpse of Paradise and it is a foretaste of the glory of heaven to come. It may be that you are being expected there, let’s see if you will be accepted!” Shuan Lang took out a map and continued, “God is calling you. I’m part of the Eden’s Protectors - an ancient Kingdom that watches over and protects Eden. The Kingdom defends the garden from the enemy and invaders. Eden’s protectors have many enemies sent by the devil, so you will need all the help you can get on your journey.” The doctor gave the travelers special provisions, as well as the sacred map, for which they were very grateful.

Far away from the doctor’s hut, there was a secret place of worship. A lone monk was praying to God in the monastery church. A Dark Army attacked the monastery, killing every monk in sight. Maharaja Akh Rahit was standing in front of a group of Christian monks. Surrounded by his evil guards, Akh Rahit demanded to know the secret that would make him all-powerful. 
“Where are the sacred scrolls with the location of Eden? I will have ultimate power once I reach the tree of life!” In return he heard only deafly silence. He came up to one of the monks with a peaceful appearance and asked again, in a most threatening voice. “Who has the scrolls?!” 
Then, the monk looked up at his persecutor, and responded very calmly to him.
“Eden is forbidden. Paradise is found within. What profits you to gain the world but lose your soul?” said the monk.
Akh Rahit turned red in the face and shouted furiously. 
“I ask you once again, stubborn fool, hand over the scrolls now or die!” And when the monk didn’t budge, he shot him. Without a shadow of remorse, he gestured to the guards and commanded cruelly.
“Kill them!” And the pious monks were shot mercilessly by a firing squad. “The whole world will tremble before me!” The evil leader vowed, as his dark army set the sacred monastery on fire. 

Henry woke up when he heard the gunshots. Outside his window, Henry saw the dead monks lying solemnly on the ground, while the evil army set fire to the monastery. Only one monk survived the massacre. Henry found the monk who took care of him. The lone monk was praying over the secret scrolls, inside a burning church. As he ran into the flames after the monk, Henry shouted to him.
“Let’s go, they’re after us!” 
Only after the monk finished praying, with the monastery on fire, he took the sacred scrolls with him and ran away, following the impatient Henry. On the way, one of Akh Rahit’s guards noticed them and attacked. He hit the monk who dropped the scrolls, as the guard picked them up, the monk shone with a shimmering light which rendered the attacker harmless. Another warrior with a gun beset them, Henry threw a golden candelabrum at him and the attacker dropped the gun. Then, Henry overwhelmed the warrior with a martial art move which made the guard faint. Henry and the monk escaped the flames and went into the forest. 
“They were looking for this!” explained Henry pointing at the scrolls. 
“I know,” said the monk quietly.
“Who are they?” Henry exclaimed. 
“Evil enemy,” replied the monk, “They are searching for you too!”
“What do they want with me?” asked Henry surprised. 
“You are looking for Eden, so are they,” replied the monk. Then, he introduced himself. “I am Kala, of the Eden Protectors, this is Eden!” He pointed to the scrolls.
“Prayers?” Henry asked in awe. 
“The only way to get there is by being God’s humble servant, and having a pure soul.” 
“Those warriors don’t have a pure soul!” Henry stated. 
“You are right.” Kala agreed, as he followed Henry into the depths of the tropics. Henry was closer to his goal of finding Paradise, but he still needed to find his teammates. He and Kala went in search of them, into the unknown territory of the wilderness.