Tying It All Together

Eaton cracked his eye lazily, just enough to notice the light streaming through his window was far stronger than when he laid down that morning. Telling himself he had to get up at some point and it might as well be now, he sat up and stretched before swinging his legs over the bed. Hm, Jana and Elijah must have stepped out while he was asleep. That was so thoughtful of her to let him sleep having been awake all night. Now what outstanding activities needed addressing? Maybe get that sword dedicated to him. That poor saw was hopelessly broken for the time being and he was no fighting machine without claws or fangs. Maybe ask Zoe about learning that gift he was wondering about for awhile now, just waiting until the spirits would respect him. And wasn’t she interested in that book they found?

Oh right!

He had made himself a mental note back in Crossroads and wanted to record it while it was still fresh on his mind. He got out of bed and stepped into the other room where the rest of his records lay. Rummaging through the drawers of his desk he pulled out a few sheets of paper and arranged them, before he started to draw on an empty page.

“Okay, those ghosts have their oblivion . . .” At the bottom third he shaded a large space so that it imitated darkness, “Which they desperately want to avoid from the sound of it . . .” Above that he drew an oval to represent the living world, adding a few wisps to signify the ghosts, “ but still struggle with its essence that taints each of them . . .” He added little black dots in the center of the wraiths, “They’re desire is what keeps them here, stopping them from going . . .” He drew the souls as if they were rising into the air, “. . . who knows where . . .” The top third of the page stayed blank.

He dropped the pencil and stared at what he just finished. Sure, he already knew ghosts were real- he and Zas had fought alongside long-dead Garou and the Silent Striders were supposed to have strange connections to them. But human souls with some level of organization even in death? It was as if they had stepped out of a campfire story. Taking a moment to mull over his illustrations, some similarities jumped out right away.

“Oblivion sounds kinda like Hell. And the Abyss.” In fact, looking across all three sheets each had their own space dedicated to the darkness.

“Oblivion’s taint sounds like the Wyrm- eatin’ at ya till yer just a creature of vice and hate with nothin’ left of who ya were.”  

He looked at the bible that still stayed at the corner of his desk, “Gee, everyone’s getting’ tempted by someone-whether it be Satan, the Wyrm, or them specters in death.”
The good book also made it clear what happened upon death: the soul either spends an eternity in paradise or everlasting torment. Course, it didn’t mention anything of getting caught halfway, still bound to this world. Or could that be the suffering it referred to? About then he heard the front door swing open and close, a second later Jana stepping into his side of the house carrying their son. She gave a small smile and said, “Good Afternoon. I thought you’d still be sleeping having been busy all night.”

“I like makin’ sure I get my facts straight. Just too tired last night is all.” He reached and took Elijah from her and set him on his lap, the child still pacified by his key ring. Jana looked at the cluttered desk and inquired, “So what all happened last night?”

“Ah,” Eaton said, looking up from Elijah to his wife, “The pack and I went up a jog to the town of Crossroads. Mrs. Carmichael was investigastin’ the strange behavior of a man named Martin and we offered to help see what we could dig up. We also heard of the strange goin’ ons with the bodies of the Cherokee who fell in that massacre. What we found . . .well,” He gestured to the mess of papers, “Is what I’m still tryin’ to figure out. To not worry ya too much, we ran into the same type of freaks we met in Zavala, but we all took care of them. What they were up to, though . . we gotta wait till we translate their manuals. Their fascination with the dead just got me thinkin,” He held up the bible with his free hand, “If any of that relates to this. Or what we Garou believe, for that matter.”
While she showed an air of concern on her face, she nonetheless knew her husband would keep himself safe. Or as safe as a werewolf would allow himself to be.

“You’ve been quiet interested in The Bible recently. Though I guess it is one of the few books in the house.”

Eaton stopped making goofy smiles at Elijah and looked back at Jana, “I’m about to be interested in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum pretty quick here. But yeah, it’s because ya know back in San Antonio? I talked to Father Ramon after that chaos at the courthouse. He talked about God and bein’ ordained by him and . . .” Eaton wore an embarrassed frown, “I was kinda an ass and blew him off, actin’ like I knew better. I mean, I talk to spirits on a daily basis and he just prays in a church. What would he know ‘bout the stranger stuff out there?”  

“Enough to make you curious.” Jana remarked, “I take it you’ve come to reconsider? ”

“How can ya tell?” He said with a shrug, “Now I’ve run into two separate thing’s callin’ themselves angels and this here crazy cult interested in the realm of the dead. It’s not like I've got a crisis of faith or nothin’, but I’m just wonderin’ how this all ties together. Is heaven like our ancestral realm? Are demons, angels, and what have you just more wyrm servants or something else nasty entirely? But the most fasninatin’ thing is . . .”
Trying to navigate around his son, he pulled out a page placed inside the bible, “All of these groups I’ve met? They all mention the apocalypse, the end times, doomsday . . . They’re all fixated on the end. I’ve first found the consideration from Malchizedek' awhile back and now I’m hearin’ it from everybody.” He paused with a frown, “Ya know I kinda blew him off, too. I really need to stop doin’ that.”

“All this is fascinating, if a little bit unsettling,” Jana said, “Though I’m sure you’ve already read the passage that states, ‘The day and hour is not known.”  

“Oh, it ain’t like I’m worryin’ or nothing like that.” Eaton said, quieting his son by placing the ring back in his mouth after it had slipped from his drooled hands, “Heck, I’m doin’ all this for fun in my spare time. I just don’t think it was fair o’ me to just ignore others beliefs. I heartily believe that is key if you want to really know someone! It’s good for me!”

“Alight, it looks like you have a lot to consider,” Jana said, folding her arms as she stepped into the other room, “Just please don’t become the local doomsayer.”

“Ah. I already get enough stares.” Eaton replied, and pulled the page that illustrated the Garou realms closer. Elijah placed a tiny hand over the darkened section and made gurgle in his throat.

“That’s right.” Eaton said, “You don’t wanna go there.”