May 7 2006
Seika released her grip on the book and exhaled."Oh, wow!"
She stared at the book in front of her, it's cover glistening as if it were somehow alive. She had felt an impending presence and sensed the panic that must have filled her unknown authori's heart. She could still smell the muskiness of the dark forest and felt the chill from the damp coldness that must have permeated their small haven.
But it was only a book. Wasn't it?
She ran her fingers across the leather cover, intrigued by the electrical sensation she felt as she touched the strange markings.
What is going on?
Yet even as strange as it all was, Seika couldn't resist. She picked up the book again and turned the pages.
September 29, 1413
Shinkirou has still not returned and we have been on the run for days. The Town Masters destroyed our safehouse four nights ago and took five of our beloved members. While the rest of us escaped, the Town Masters follow close behind, hoping to capture what remains of our alliance.
I fear the worst and am lost as to what to do. Napheita tells me to be strong but she is Shinkirou's sister and will carry her cause until the day she meets her death. There are whispers around the camp that perhaps Shinkirou has been captured as well and if that is so, our fight has all be in vain. We cannot survive without Shinkirou. The others know it and so do I.
How odd that I should be writing this dire message when only months ago I was but a farm girl with little adventure to speak of. Bored and lonely in my life, I considered dismissing Shinkirou and her band of witches, believing the Gods would punish me were I to follow. And now, here I am, the One that they have searched for. Yet, I have no guidance or hope to offer them.
The evil that lurks here is an ancient one that has been nurtured and promoted by the Town Masters themselves, their end of a dark deal they made with the Unseen and Unnamed. In return, they prosper and live a life of security, whilst their citizens starve and mourn the loss of loved ones taken in the dark of night. Our world is but a shell of its once pristine existence. Its resources are gone and disease and despair envelope the lands.
I am lost, Shinkirou. I am not the One. I cannot be, for I don't know what to do.
The lights dimmed and Seika looked up from her book. The room seemed suddenly strange, dark and unfamiliar instead of the comfortable bedroom she had always known. She could hear voices.. just whispers actually, coming from somewhere down the hall. But Seika felt no fear. Instead, she was intrigued, overwhelmed by a curiosity even she couldn't explain. She laid the book on her bed and tiptoed to the edge of her doorway, peering around it slowly. There were shadows at the far end of the hall, moving shadows she could tell but Seika couldn't make them out without moving in closer. She edged down the hallway, clinging to the wall and inching ever so closer to the whispering voices. They were arguing she thought, although about what she wasn't sure.
"I'm telling you no... it's just too soon!"
"That may be true but we are out of time. She is out of time. Ankoku will be looking for her if he is not already and we must move her before it is too late."
Too late? Too late for what she wondered? And who is Ankoku?
"We don't know that Ankoku has begun his journey", came the other voice. "All we really have is your paranoia as proof. She is not to be moved until the Council has determined our best path."
Seika inched closer. Just a few more steps and she could see around the corner. She held her breath and took another step, the floorboard creaking loudly beneath her weight. The voices stopped and the shadows evaporated as Seika lunged around the corner. Nothing. No one. The voices were gone.
Seika stood in the hallway, breathless, excited, her senses almost on fire. She saw no sign of the strangers. No sign at all, she thought as the glimmer caught her eye. Wait a minute... what was this?
Are you ready to vote? You tell me what happens next.
Poll:What did Seika find?
