Soulwalker

Prelude

   There are some times when the other world collides with ours. The two most powerful times are Beltane, the first of May, and Samhain, the first of November. Many people know that the Veil is thin on Samhain Eve, when ghosts and other spirits run rampant in the human world. Midsummer's Eve is another day when the Veil is thin. The worlds can also overlap on full moons, though only slightly. Some people think that the Veil lies between two worlds: The one we're in, which isn't very interesting, and the other one, which has all the spirits and faeries and demons and monsters and other things you don't want to mess with. There's this world of physicality and realness, and there's that world, where the magic is. If only it were that simple! There are many worlds, perhaps innumerable ones, and they all brush up against each other. They may even be touching you right now.

Most humans are not aware of the other worlds. They fill their heads with irksome practicality, disregarding the idea of magic and other worlds as foolishness. Perhaps they could travel to the Otherworld, if they paid more attention to it. In general, children are much more attentive to the shifting Planes, and to the presence of Otherworld creatures. Most people lose this ability as they grow to adulthood, simply because they neglect to use it. Every once in a while, there is a rare person that not only recognizes this gift but is not afraid of it. That person is a shaman. Shamans learn to travel between planes, and to make some sort of sense out of the land of dreams. For whatever reason, shamans are quite rare. This story concerns a certain family of shamans, called Soulwalkers.