The further he walked, the more it felt like the trees were closing in around him. Any light that may have came from the houses of the village were instantly hidden. The trees felt like guards that were watching his every move. Unconsciously, Edwin moved like a ghost. His feet made no sound and every step he took, a tree concealed him. He knew it was only his imagination getting the better of him, but he could almost swear the trees were moving to block his way backwards.

  As the rusty headed man watched for threats, a thought occurred to him. There wasn’t a sound to be heard aside from the leaves under his feet. Any sign of the forest’s nocturnal inhabitants was noticeably absent. Filing away the observation, but not discarding it, he came closer to the center of the forest and felt…something. There wasn't any sound and it was too dark to see, but something felt wrong. Turning his head from side to side, Edwin still could see nothing and the silence was so perfect his ears were ringing with their search for any form of sound. Silently slipping his hand inside his cloak, Edwin traced the handle of his knife.

  'Never let a potential threat know you're aware of it', he recalled, 'And if there is a threat, never engage without a means of killing.'

  But his instincts were urgently warning him... he was being watched. Not out of curiosity, rather out of something akin to hunger but even deeper and more desperate.

  Suddenly, through the silence finally came a sound. The breaking of the perfect silence made Edwin's hands twitch in surprise and his heart rate shoot up for a second. Once the presence of the sound registered, he stretched out his senses once more. Whatever his instincts were warning him of, the presence had retreated. It wasn't gone, most likely just a little further away, but not an immediate threat. Taking his hand off the handle of his knife, Edwin returned his attention to the faint noise.

  The sound wasn't coming from too far into the forest and against Edwin’s better judgment, he followed. The further into the trees he walked, the more clearly Edwin could differentiate the sound. It was distant, but he could positively identify the deep sound of a drum. Not just one but several. Whatever he was walking into, it was clear his host knew he was nearby. The drums boomed rhythmically every few seconds. As he got closer, their tempo only got faster and he could hear something else. It was a deep, humming sound echoing through the trees. Edwin soon recognized it as some kind of guttural chanting, like from the more monastic divisions of the Acolynian temples.

  The beat soon began to vibrate within Edwin’s body, as if the drums were enticing him. A few steps further, and he could see a flickering light. The trees began thinning out and Edwin could see a large fire, its flames reaching twice as tall as a man. As his eyes adjusted to the fire, he saw several people who despite all wearing the same black veil just just knew they all looking at him while they continued their throaty chanting. Walking forward, the people began bowing in reverence as Edwin approached the fire. As soon as he stepped within the ring of light from the fire, the drums and chanting ceased.

  “Finally, you have arrived”, a voice that seemed to echo from everywhere greeted him, “Then we may begin.”

  From behind the flickering light of the fire, hiding him from Edwin's vision, a figured materialized. The figure wasn’t much taller than him, but he had a powerful presence. The man was wearing a tattered, raggedy robe that looked ready to fall apart, had a large knife on his hip and like the others, had a black veil draped around his face, completely hiding his face. While he didn’t give an introduction, Edwin immediately understood, “Pradip, I assume.”

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  He nodded, “And you are the Otherworldly Traveler brought by God.”

  For the first time since he got to the new world, Edwin felt true anticipation, “You know why I was brought here? You know who brought me here?!”

  The man responded with pure silence and Edwin felt himself being heavily judged. He dampened his excitement, but didn’t show the man any sign of weakness. Pradip craned his neck to look at the starry sky above, breathed in deeply and uttered something in an unusual language. Edwin felt every sense in his body being stimulated at once. Every nerve in his body felt on edge. He could taste and smell the smoke, leaves and incense in the air, he could hear the individual pops in the fire and make out the individual stitches on Bataar’s ragged cloak. But as quickly as the sensation came upon Edwin, it left but his hands still tingled.

  “What did you do to me?”, Edwin barked.

  Pradip grabbed Edwin’s arm with an impossibly withered hand. The skin was paper thin to the point the young man could make out individual metacarpals and blood vessels. But despite how decrepit the limb was, Edwin couldn’t pull his hand away. Bataar stared for a moment before nodding as if nothing was wrong, “It is true, you are the emissary of God for which we have waited. Your sigil bears the mark.”

  “My sigil…”, Edwin was finally able to pull his hand from Pradip and looked. For a moment, he dared to hope that maybe a symbol would appear. He would have a Patron. He would have answers. He might even have a purpose. But as he looked at the circle he was branded with, all he saw was disappointment. It was still blank, but it was warm and glowing this time, “OK, the glowing is new, but it’s still the same. There’s nothing here. I don’t have a Patron.”

  “Fool!”, Pradip harshly admonished, “You do not realize your purpose. And you do not realize who has given it to you nor who your Patron truly is.”

  After months of being treated like an outsider and a leech, essentially being told to walk aimlessly looking for a purpose that may not exist and now being treated like a child that was being scolded for something he should know better, Edwin reached a boiling point, “Dammit you… I’m guessing old man! I. Do. Not Understand a f**king thing that is going on here. I land in a f**king sanctuary with no memory of who I am. I get told that I should be some kind of hero, but every god out there seems to have conveniently f**ked off for vacation. And after pretty much being told ‘We don’t have a use for you, just go away’ by the very people who are supposed to be my guides in this world, you clearly have answers. So just f**king tell me what you know and stop acting like I should have everything figured out.”

  Pradip stood stock still as Edwin finished his ranting. While he couldn’t see his face, Edwin got the distinct impression that Pradip was narrowing his eyes in disapproval and suddenly he felt foolish for losing his composure so easily. Still angry for being jerked around, but foolish nonetheless.

  “I suppose it would be wrong to expect the Acolynians to teach you the truth”, Pradip surmised as he bent down and gathered ash on his hands and spoke in a voice that sounded almost heartbroken, “They have forgotten.”

  Abruptly standing up, “Very well, you will learn from the very beginning.”

  Edwin wasn’t sure whether to sigh in relief because of possibly getting answers or from the veiled man still being evasive. Pradip spoke an order in the strange language and everyone present sat facing him. Waving his withered hand at the assembly, “Everyone you see here is all that remains of the true followers of God.”