The Eye Of The Seeker

Prologue

America has fallen. Collapsed underneath war and chaos. Spreading like a virus contaminating big cities then moving into smaller communities. Riots and violence starting in Atlanta and  moving up and westward.

Frequent stealing and killing forces people and families to leave their homes in search of safety. The sad reality though is that in this new America, nowhere is safe. Groups began forming and looking out for themselves. "Kill or be killed" became the way in this new lawless land.

On the shores of what was left of the deserted west coast lie Angel. A peaceful settlement born out of a time when the world was at war. Within it's walls there was no violence, no crime and no war. A peaceful society centered around respect and control. All governed by the Fathers, the leaders of the community. Under their rule everyone had a place, everyone was respected.

Born out of a time of unimaginable violence. Angel stood as a safe haven for families seeking shelter from the cold, cruel country that had become America. What was left of it anyways.

Founded by a man named Gunter. He experienced the violence firsthand and while striving to escape it, he fled to the abandoned west coast with a vision and a passion for saving innocent lives. This is how Angel was born.

It started off as a humble, homemade camp at first. Then, more and more people began showing up, bringing families with them. A dream began forming for Gunter; his vision was not just to save innocent lives, but also to nurture them, to give them a purpose, to give them hope and a reason to believe in God once again. He had a dream of a city founded on community, working together, respecting one another and above all else, faith in God.

And so Angel grew, starting from a small, simple refugee camp to a thriving community, taking in all people of every creed and color, seeking safety from the war-torn country.

Gangs had taken over much of the rest of the country. The worst of them was a group of vicious thugs known as The Dark Hands. The Dark Hands were a brutal army of men trained only to kill, pillage, and destroy. They would seek out the weak and raid their homes. Women and children were taken, and men were killed if they tried to stand in their way. The Dark Hands were heartless and cruel. Anywhere they went was left completely destroyed.

Gunter hated the Dark hands more than any other gang. Some say he lost his family to their cruelty. Others say he was one. Either way he wanted to stop them. He had a plan, but he couldn't do it alone.

He called to the men of Angel. He gathered 20 of them together for a meeting and told them his plan.

"This camp was founded on saving lives. That has always been my intention," he told them, "I believe we are called to rescue the innocent and I have a plan to continue doing so if you are willing to join me." When all of the men agreed, he separated them into two groups of ten.
"The men on my left I want to take with me beyond the camp. You are the bravest and strongest in our community and I want to train you to fight and defend yourselves. We will be the world's defense. I want to be ahead of the Dark Hands.
If we can find out when they will strike, we can be ahead of them and save the lives of innocent people. We can bring them back to the safety of our camps and help them rebuild their lives with us."

He then turned to his the men on his right. "You will stay here and become the leaders of Angel. You will oversee everything here and help the refugees transition to life in our camp. You will be the fathers of this community while we are away."

The men that stayed became known as the Fathers and governed the camp, and the men that left with Gunter became the Protectors.

So that is how things worked. Gunter would send spies to find out the Dark Hands' whereabouts and plans to report back to him. They would move ahead of the vicious gang and rescue the innocent people before the Dark Hands could touch them.

They had many successful missions together, Gunter and the Protectors. Many lives were saved and spared thanks to their efforts. Life in Angel flourished as well; the Fathers assigned jobs and enforced rules and acted as leaders. Everyone worked together and thrived.

Then one day, thanks to delays and false information, the Protectors arrived late. The Dark Hands attacked with a vengeance. The Protectors fought back, getting all the people out they could. They almost succeeded when Gunter was critically injured. The Protectors retreated, carrying their fearless leader with them.
They made it back to Angel, announcing Gunter and several men needed medical attention. They were looked at by the camps few medical professionals. Unfortunately, with a lack of medical supplies and medicine, there was nothing they could do. Gunter was too critically injured to be healed.
The next few days were spent making him as comfortable as possible. While lying on his deathbed, he had another vision that he demanded be written down. "I see a warrior.." his frail voice warning, "A war is coming and they will bring it with them, but in the end there will be ultimate peace." He continued describing his vision long into the night, every detail being written down.  He died shortly after the next day.

With their leader gone and the new reality that The Dark Hands could attack at any moment, the leaders and defensemen of Angel met to discuss what to do. The Fathers wanting to focus on preserving life in Angel and suggested they close off the borders to the camp. The Protectors disagreed, wanting to continue Gunter's vision of saving innocent lives. They argued for many days until finally the Fathers won the argument.

New rules and laws were put into place and the Fathers ordered that a great wall be built around Angel, closing them off from the outside world. They also had a temple built in the middle of Angel to honor Gunter and the God he loved so much. With the new rules being enforced and the Fathers taking control of everything, the Protectors found it impossible to adjust to life inside the wall. Frustrated and growing restless, they decided to leave and take anybody that wanted to come with them. The Fathers happily agreed. The Protectors left and the construction of the wall was completed soon thereafter. 

Once the huge gate to the wall was shut, it was finished. Angel was officially cut off from the rest of the world. The temple was completed as well and it became the central gathering place for Angel. It was where the children went to school, where the people worshipped, wed, and eventually were celebrated after they died.

Gunter's teachings and faith in God became the basis of the new way of life in Angel. The history of the madness of the outside world was written down and stored safely in the temple. It was later decided that this information was too dangerous to the people of Angel, so it was sealed away, and the only ones allowed to lay eyes on it were the Fathers.

Gunter's final vision left them uncomfortable. Who was this hero destined to bring war? How and when would this happen? Many scribes spent many years studying this prophecy, trying to decipher its meanings focusing on each an every detail.

Over a hundred years would pass until signs of the prophecy would begin to present itself in Angel.

It all started in a curious little girl named Anna.