Dead Man's Letters -Chapter 1

The following text is purely fictional. Any resemblance to people or events that have actually happened is purely coincidental and unintentional.

Chapter One: An Introduction

It was one day, not much different than this one, where it all began. I was sitting on a bench... one of those white ones that you could always see around back in those days, in an autumn setting. Happy children, people going about their lives... most, being completely oblivious to the harshness of reality. Be it by their own mistake or desire, that was the truth. It still, very much, is.
I was sitting on a white bench... and right next to me, was a mailbox.
Before we continue, you may want to know... who am I? I assure you that it lacks importance. Let's say I'm one of the people I will tell you about, but I won't tell you which. I was not then as I am now...
The city of Anmar... capital of my homeland. Large, dusty buildings, everything in a dying desert atmosphere, with a little green here or there, artificial...
She lived in a flat in one of the city's less than friendly neighborhoods. Where there wasn't dust, there was concrete. Where there wasn't concrete, was ground... but over all these things, was the blood of many of those who are not among us today.
Leah, her name was. That girl that I grew up with, with blue eyes that you could lose yourself in... oh, sweet Leah. I remember a day in the 70's...
It was 6 AM. One of those mornings when everything that could, should and would go wrong. She felt dizzy. Her head was going sideways. And she didn't know who she was.
Leah: "What... happened? My head hurts... I don't remember anything."
She got up, and had a cigar. Looking outside the window, all she could notice was a certain monotony to the city that was once full and bursting with life. Strangely, it was dark and empty.
The wind blows.
Her mind was almost empty. Why? That, she could not answer.
She wandered around in her home, which had an oppressing feel in the air. She found the kitchen. And on the kitchen table, was something that resembled a letter.
"Dear Leah," was written on the letter, but it was completely blank otherwise.
Leah:"How weird..."

She went out, into the balcony. The sun was lost amidst the shallow clouds that filled the morning sky. For some reason, she felt like looking at the poster she had put outside. It was the image of an angel reaching out towards the sky, it's arms in chains, left with nothing more than it's own innocent smile. Beneath the image, the words written: "And when you no longer see the path to redemption, have faith."
Leah was now very confused. Although she wasn't thinking very clearly, she remembered that she had never put up any posters. There was a book lying on the floor. The cover was weathered by time, cold and thick, as if for a great writing of some legendary artist. She noticed it and picked it up, then opened it. All the pages, except three, were torn. The first one and the last one were covered with little stains of blood, but no writing. The middle one: "Leah... my sweet, look behind you." She turns around quickly, and sees the tower in the middle of the city. It was still exactly 6:00 AM, just as it was when she woke up. She thought she was in a dream... and that gave her the certainty she should had never had. She went back into her hollow room and sat on her bed, face in arms. Her beautiful dark hair was the part of her that least showed her despair by then. Suddenly, she feels more uneven. She hears voices, whispers... small things start shaking... she sees a shadow. It conjures around her, and as she is about to scream, it embraces her and becomes one with her soul.
She falls into her bed, seemingly lifeless. She opened her eyes. Oh, sweet Leah... her eyes were no longer that tranquil blue. They were dark. Darker than the night. Darker than it's essence... dark as hatred. She shook violently and shifted back and forth into consciousness.  She fought it. I've not told you, but her soul was one of light. She was pure, a representation of most if not all positive traits one can possess. She fought it tirelessly... and then, apparently without reason, she stopped and fell into slumber, breathing slowly. And it was 6... 6:01. Since that day, she was never the same. Her beautiful voice that was once like song now felt almost as if it had been burned. It sounded the same, but it wasn't the same. Her eyes returned to being blue, but it wasn't that blue I used to love... it was a blue that almost stung me, every time I saw it... And her soul was worst of all. It had a hole. It cried.It begged. It desired. It hungered. It screamed whenever I would look into it. Oh sweet Leah, what have you become... What scars hath fate woven on thine once pure, untainted soul?

She called me the day after...
Filled with desperation, rugged, cold, alone, forgotten... and you could tell that just from the few words she was whispering.
And I suppose it's time I gave myself a name, yes... indeed. Call me Leon.
"Leon... something happened. I'm not ok. Please meet me at the second spot."
I was in the casino at the time. I was on a winning streak, and it was greed that consumed me, trying to push me to stay. I stayed five more minutes, but I could never had known what those five minutes would mean to her. I decided to leave after that one more win. In your values, what I had won was equivalent to the value of an estate, a car, perhaps one of those brightly delightful ornaments your society chooses to fill itself with in it's upper bowels. In my values, it wasn't worth what I had to lose for it. I left the casino. The doors turned slower than they normally would, I could not get out. And suddenly, it all stopped. Right as I was exiting, all motion ceased. Myself included. And I was no longer myself... I could see myself clearly, but I was... at most, ethereal. I knew not what to make of this. Everything exploded into blinding light around me, but the event itself was immaterial. I froze. From the light, came... Leah. I was shocked to see her, especially now as I was heading towards her... she came out, perhaps even more beautiful than I remembered her... she looked at me, through me, beyond me. She was filled with a radiant white light, and from within her skin came out almost angelic voices, whispers. She slowly reached out towards me, and put her hand on my face. It felt unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was so warm... harmonic... peaceful... filled with love. She looked straight into my eyes, waiting for something. I said "Leah... forgive me... We'll meet in the epitaphs of after." And I said that without wanting to, almost as if pushed... but I held the meaning sincere to my own. She smiled, and closed her eyes. From within her white robe, she took out a note. It said "I shall await your homecoming, wherein we may share ourselves again." She shed a tear as I read it, turned around... behind her, a beautiful dance of small lights... and then, she went back from whence she came. And everything turned back to normal, but I could not understand what had just happened. I could not understand even myself, back in those long-gone days. But that made me worry, deeply. Was she going to die? Could I do anything to prevent it? You may wonder about our relation: We were not lovers; we were One. We shared a bond beyond any earthly explanation, and it filled our souls and bonded them together. I quickly ran to my car and headed towards the second spot. My vision then turned from seeing things clearly, to seeing nothing more than ephemeral moments. I entered a state of panic and confusion, and once again I could not explain that which was happening. The road remained; all around became from urban landscape to barren desert, and then into an endless void, as if I was riding on a stone. It seemed as if I was going faster, it seemed as if crows were surrounding me, and it seemed as if the road was infinite. And then, I recognised the spot. Don't ask me how. I know not, I just felt it. Everything once again returned to normal, and I could see everything clearly. I stopped the car, almost ramming it into a wall out of my insane hurry. I ran towards the dark alley we had known as the second spot, one of the places which we would play our games as children... ah, the games... they were not children's games, but summonings. I saw Leah. I saw Leah... being torn apart. She was standing on her own feet, but there were shadows running around her and in the sky, forming a whirlwind. As she saw me, it stopped briefly, and she screamed "Release me. Release me!..." I briefly looked at her, in shock. I ran towards her, and then the shadows turned towards me. She fell down. I stopped in place, and the whirlwind I saw around her, I now saw around me. I was going numb; so was my mind. At that point, I realised that it was only moments before I would had departed from this world. Years before that incident, I had studied the arts of old, in places forgotten that I will not mention. My teacher, the leader of the community there, was strongest of all, stronger than I am now, stronger, perhaps, than I will ever be. I was his trainee. Leah wanted to be alongside me in my trials, but she was assigned another teacher. I had learned that such supernatural events were known as "The occurances". They would take place whenever a dark one would attempt to claim one for his own army and strength. They regretted not the taking of life, as it would eventually grant them immortality. I learned to recognize the strength of these, and how to fight them - not all of them ,but most, those of those who were not immortal. As soon as a dark one would reach immortality, he would leave to a different plane and would never be heard of again, here or in the spiritual one that is linked to our world. I quickly began saying the words. Words that I had once learned as any other words, words of power unimaginable, words that would shatter essence of any kind, would rip any soul, would deny any shadow it's prize. I never had the need to do so before, as my teacher taught me to never use them inappropriately. The concrete around me started breaking, and flames of light burst from under the cracks, slowly engulfing my predators. The shadows slowly disappeared, and as they faded away they called for my name. I waited just enough to make sure I would be safe, after which I started running towards Leah, but I fell down before I managed to reach her. The image blacked out, and I fell unconscious on the scorched ground.

When I awoke, I saw Leah's face... she was mending my wounds, but she clearly had her own significant share... it was all a blur. I was too weakened to say anything... lest I would undo her efforts to restore me to some degree of well-being. I closed my eyes, and focused on the sole power of my mind.
I saw short flashbacks of what had transpired.
I had enough time time to see those last few minutes. To replay them in my mind. Over and over again... they got slower. From dark blurs, to dark shapes - from shapes, to figures - from figures, to smiles. It's as if they were digging into my soul, smiling as hunter to prey.

Time passes. For the following days, as I had found out shortly after, I slipped in and out of consciousness. Leah had done all she could for me, and I was grateful.

After the passing of 5 such days, I was finally strong enough to get back on my feet. Leah was sleeping by my side, tired. I decided not to awake her, leaving her a note instead.

"Thank you for what you've done to heal me. I feel strong enough to get on to the task at hand. I am aware that you may not be at the best of strengths either, but we need to get on, for these are dark times. Please meet me out front at 6, we're going to meet Altaire. I need not stress that it is of the upmost importance that we do so, else we may very well be lost - along with all the others."

And now you wonder: Who is this Altaire I speak of? She was the most trusted councilor of the leader that had taught me. Being his trainee, I had the opportunity to meet her several times. She was a graceful being, lines of energy literally flowing of her fingertips. She had her own beauty, that you had to understand in order to appreciate - to the normal ones, who've never had to go farther than their own world, she was just like one of those cover girls...just like any other one of them. To us she was a open road towards the second existence. You see, every one of us can have one or more talents and affinities; some of which are more or less unique. She has the gifts of the original Prophet: She opens eyes and lets us transcend the paths that fate has given us. She is also our main recruiter - Due to her extraordinary abilities, she can multiply even the faintest hint of supernatural energy in a person by up to hundreds of times - to the point where it is visible, along with all it's possible courses of evolution.

I had left in the morning, to have time to gather all I would need. I visited Nix, one of our prime suppliers, to get some info about current events, and some bare essentials I would need. He ran a bar downtown. His clients were all good people - and most of them where my brethren.
As I entered, I couldn't help but notice the lavish ornaments he kept adding to that place. Red curtains, even a stage... the purpose was pretty obvious to me.
I sat down, and waited for him. He was tall and well-built as far as constitution went. His clothes were non-suggestive, but they obviously weren't cheap to get.
He noticed me, and greeted me.
N: "Leon, my brother! It's been ages! What brings you here tonight? Business or... (he stared towards the curtains)...the other kind of business?"
L:"Just business, I'm afraid."
N:"What's wrong? I thought you had quit... you know, for that better, calmer life of yours?"
He served another client, but kept an ear for what I was saying.
L:"I thought that too. But something happened... something that shouldn't have. I'll tell you about it, but not here."
The jazz music on the background wasn't fitting in that well with a serious topic, anyway. I leaned back against the wall, and just listened, eyes closed and mind empty. It helped me take off the stress a bit... it had been constantly building since the whole mess began. Nix was serving the other clients, and was too busy to talk to me for a while. An hour or so later, we finally went into the depot. You see, behind those red curtains were two things: Strippers and a depot filled with anything you could ever need - well, if you were in my situation, at least. We were talking as we were going:
N:"So, what exactly happened? You seem worried, my brother."
L:"The occurances. They've begun again."
N:"No, that can't be... we stopped them!"
L:"New breed."
I showed him my arm.
L:"They bite harder now... the wounds are still bearable, but without training... you understand the consequences on the unawakened or even those less prepared of us."
He stood quiet for a while. He was as disturbed as I was about the news, realising the severeness of the matter.
N:"You've got to meet up with Dames. He and Alty will probably be able to help. Meanwhile, I'll spread the news and see what I can dig up. But while you're here, is there anything you need?"
L:"Do you think they'll be able to change to material forms?"
N:"Perhaps. Here, take these energy disruptors... they haven't worked so far, but you never know."
He handed me over two small silver objects.
N:"Use them like grenades. They auto-detonate when a sufficient charge of energy is in the area. Obviously, that also means you should watch out for electrified fences, power lines, and the like. And obviously, you shouldn't get close. With your signature, it sees you like someone living underground sees the sun for the first time."
L:"Should come in handy. Thanks."
N:"No problem.Just keep it as a last option, though. We'll be meeting again soon, I believe."
And by believing, he meant certain. He said it as his eyes turned black, meaning he had looked into the future. I didn't bother him asking him what exactly he saw. Some skills are innate, and others mastered: We could all choose our own distinct set of skills. Seeing trough the timeline was also a skill one could train in; however, every new initiate in this art has to undergo a ritual, along with his trainer. He must swear never to tell others what he sees, lest he may change the flow of time, and with that, bring catastrophic after effects.
I turned away, and didn't look back. The air seemed colder than usual, and I heard my footsteps louder; I don't know if it was me that was uneasy, or if the air had actually changed. When I put the energy disruptors into my pockets, I found a small sheet of paper. It wasn't there before. I took it out, and read.

"Leon. Come now, what do you think you will achieve? Remember back a few million years ago... when the dinosaurs where wiped out? It wouldn't have helped them to know they were going to meet their end before they did. Same goes for your kind. You could stop running around like a fool, it'll all be in vain.

~DM
P.S. Don't forget Leah. I wouldn't want her to... feel unhappy right now. Relax though, I haven't done anything to her. The time for that comes later."

"Who the hell was this guy?" I asked myself.
I think I remember Leah telling me about a strange letter in one of my brief moments of clarity during my healing. But why would anyone stalk us, of all people?
No time for these things, alas. I went outside, got in my car, and drove towards our block. I turned on the radio: "...earlier today, several people claimed to have seen events of the supernatural type. Some believe it was the doing of angels, or maybe even an alien abduction in broad daylight."
Heh. At least they were in the blur.
It started raining as I got close. The sky slowly started turning red... and I turned my eyes to the clock, almost by reflex. It was 4:56 PM... and it still was, 10 minutes later...
I heard a voice "It's not really your fault though. Look... do you see this guy?" An image was imprinted in my mind; I saw a young man, standing on a couch, watching TV - typical, I thought. "It is the innocent who must suffer. And this one will suffer because of you - because of your denial." I saw him starting to choke; he fell on the ground, apparently lifeless, and the whispers of shadows grew ever stronger, a whirlwind forming, as the one I had seen before... "That, my friend, is just an image. One day perhaps, I'll prove myself to someone closer to you, if my point does not get across by then. Come forth, Weaver. Transcend your destiny as it is written and not as you would have it! You are not one of them, you never were, you never will be."
It stopped...

Weaver.
Weaver.
Weaver... I hate that name. It is the burden I bear for certain happenings in the past.
It is a legend that I would suppress, that I would rather not believe in, that I would rather not acknowledge;
It tells of an immortal dark one coming back into our plains, and setting in motion the end of all spirits; unbeatable, determined, deadly, fast, wise.
My mother - who was, like myself and Leah, one of the Awakened - told me of this story; every time she would see the mark on my right arm, tears would fall from her eyes. She would remain quiet, but I could see that she suffered.
And perhaps it was the greatest suffering: Knowing that your own progeny may eventually destroy you, and everyone - everything else.
The choice was either to nurture it, or to destroy it. At times I wish she would had destroyed me, but she chose to let me transcend my fate...
She was not sure it was me, though. I still am not sure it's me. I wish the legend would be wrong. Even if it wasn't, I wish it wasn't me. Yes...
But then why am I hearing voices? Am I going mad?
Is this all a dream?
I could hear a faint voice yet again, however... and it was my mother's.
"Leon... come. You are not ready. Amidst all the hate and chaos that will follow, you will fall. You must be ready to be raised from the Fallen, or perhaps along with you, our entire cause will fail and the unawakened will be completely defenseless to a threat that is to them invisible.
Come now..."
I closed my eyes. Opposed to a normal blink, it all turned to light. And I slowly saw myself elsewhere.
The spiritual energies of the land I was in were immensely strong; intimidating to a point - but they were all tranquil, peaceful remnants of their old possessors.
The small speck of land only had a white fountain; some wooden seats and benches, a house, some trees. The rest of the land was filled with waterfalls, spirits, spirit bridges, and a gateway to the other world, should one arriving here wish to return.
I was laying on the sweet caress of the grass as I entered. I stood up, only to see my mother standing on a bench. Her "copy" was done at an age similar to the one I have now; she was elegant.
She was standing on a white bench... one of the ones you could see everywhere in those long-gone days...
I sat next to her. She ignored me, apparently.
In her hand, a leaf. She held it in her hand, gently. She was looking at it deeply, smiling. As she dropped it, it faded to dust; the wind carried it swiftly.
I remembered my mother's powers; she had chosen to be an oracle of wind. The oracles were always in touch with both the land and the ones upon it; suffering or thriving along with them.
She turned to me, and still had that subtle, reassuring smile upon her face. She looked into my eyes, and never said a word, verbally. She imprinted them upon my mind.
"Leon! After so much time... it's good to see you. I hope you have been doing well?"
That started off like most innocent mother-son conversations; she didn't know what to say exactly, but she loved me, and she showed it as she could; I felt warmth deep within, and a sensation of good came over me.
"But you know I would never disturb you just because I miss you... we must get on to that which is most important.
Do you realise what is going on?", she said.
"No", I replied, "theories, beliefs, but I do not know."
"The winds are violent. They scream and gather. But do you know who they follow?"
She pauses for a moment, and looks into the distance.
"They follow you. You..."
A tear falls.
"But that is why you are here. I will make sure you are ready for the challenges ahead. You've never specialized in one skill, you chose to have them all. Unlike all others, you have succeeded in having all abilities, which, no doubt, makes you exceptional. You are, however, not ready. While you can do everything, others can do one particular thing considerably better. For that reason, you are here now. I have asked them to come and help in your training; All but one have accepted. While I fear for the worst, there is nothing we can do to help if what I believe has happened."

End of Chapter One.