From Night On: Pathways

Chapters 1-2

Chapter 1:

Flight

March 8th Continued

(Hessa)

So much has happened since Les began his journal and now, with the exception of the bits of his wanderings inexplicably filling in, I've taken up writing my part. I don't know why, but it helps me feel close to him. He's still lost somewhere in the spirit world and I don't know when, where, or if I will ever see him, again. While I have faith that he can, at the worst, stumble along the right path, I'm still fearful because of how inexperienced he is. There are too many creatures on the other side that he is just simply not aware of. Some are harmless while there are many that, while they may look innocent, could devour him if he's not careful. In any case, it might be good for me to run through the list of things that have happened before I add my next entry to potentially find a link between all the chaos that has erupted.

It started with the dead coming back from the grave. Not a single person who came back appeared to be evil or intent on harming any of the living. Sure, they may look like the typical horror movie zombie, which is terrifying at first glance, but they have all been very kind and compassionate, some of whom became very dear friends, like Marcus and Twa.

Because of the panic that took over, religious extremists tried to fight the undead, arguing that they were somehow demons or the impure who weren't allowed into heaven. These extremists rose in ranks and began targeting the living who were befriending the undead, which is where Les was drawn into the massive conflict and chased as far as Mexico to escape. That's where we finally met in person.

Then, Les stupidly stuck his hands into one of the sacred flames, absorbing it and taking it with him. If I hadn't distracted the guardians protecting it by running through and taking some of the fire with me, he would have been killed on the spot. I only survived because I'm a descendant of Fox and, I can't believe I'm writing this down, I can shapeshift into a fox at will. Thankfully, I can relax in the knowledge that me being a Foxkin isn't the craziest thing going to be mentioned here.

After learning that he might be some hero meant to fight and possibly die in a final fight, Les' fears got the better of him and we ran. I wouldn't let him run off on his own, so I went with him and took him to The Five Dragons Temple in the Wudang Mountains, China, and that's where it got crazier. We crossed over into the spirit world, used our flames to fight against demons, met a dragon, found and delivered the compliance staff to Wuk-kung, met Kwanyin, and fought the leader of the extremist group, Christ's Protectors, who slaughtered so many at the Taoist temple.

We couldn't defeat the leader. Even with the flames, it was Wuk-kung who was able to send the Dark Man soaring far away. Afterwards, we helped as much as we could, but couldn't stay. Us being there was only going to keep drawing the Dark Man and his extremist group back to the temple, so we packed our bags and decided to find our way to the Dalai Lama to look for answers. Unfortunately, Les accidentally crossed over into the spirit world and was taken to some unknown location by a Wind Deity where he saw a glimpse of one of our past lives. Thankfully, that part of his journey has filled in and we both learned the real name of the Dark Man. Rav, apparently, was once a friend of ours, but, due to our interference, was kept from ever crossing over to the spirit world. There's still so much there that we don't know about.

I stayed where Les had disappeared for a long while until our companions, Twa and Marcus, convinced me that it might have been safer to follow our original path toward the Tomb of Three Kings in the possibility that we might be able to find Les along the way. That's where we met our new friend, Yael. She's been rough and not exactly friendly, but her actions consistently demonstrate that she cares, even though her mouth would scream otherwise. She took us to a compound that was owned by her friend who prefers to be called, "Norm," but she refuses to call him anything other than,"Chuluun." The compound was gorgeous with intricately carved structures, statues, and historically creative pillars, but we couldn't stay there for long.