Setting
In an illustrious land of autumn hues far beyond the sunset is where your tale began.
There you stood, in a field bathed in sunlight, waist high grasses browned by summer passed.
It was a golden stretch of curiosity, natural and naked made for your exploration.
There was, as far as the eye could see to the north, south, and east, nothing but the swaying reeds.
Over to the west, a crag of dark stone stretched towards the sky.
How did you get here?
"Pepper! Oh gods, Pepper!" She screamed desperately, tears blurring her vision.
She dropped her face into her hands and sobbed. The last she remembered before waking was a feeling of exhaustion, and what she assumed was her losing consciousness during her ritual. She must not have been asleep for long, she realized, because the scent of the herbs she used in the ritual (mint, lavender, and lily of the valley) were still fresh in her nose.
Solstice gathered herself, wiped her hands on her ruffled shin length skirt, and stood quickly. She forced herself to refashion her low bun, hold her head up high, and begin walking towards the destination that stood out the most. The stone that seemed to touch the sky.
Not taking any chances, he quickly turned south and begin to circle back around what ever had cried out. As he did, the things sent was carried to him on the on the wind. Human, but not one he recognised. Using all the stealth a hunter of his experience possessed, the great cat eventually positioned himself behind the stranger.
His ears told him that they where going in the same direction he had originally taken. Careful he raised his head a fraction higher and fully spied the human. Thankfully it was not his enemy, but a female, dressed in cloths he had never seen before. Her movements suggested that she was not searching for him, or even aware of the Man-Eater.
Seeing she was no threat, the Leopard decided to follow the newcomer. He was not hungry at present, having fed no long before the hunters had come for him, and he was tired, but he was curious. He would also need food and water eventually, perhaps she could lead him to them.
Lowering his head into the grass once again, the Spotted Devil, now as close to invisible as nature could achieve, began to follow.
There were hundreds, if not thousands of newcomers. Yet so few were anywhere near one another. They were all, however, equidistant from Eminence. Isn't it funny how space and time are all a matter of perception?
Where were Daniel Cooker's comrades?
What did The Gray Witch expect to find in Eminence?
Did The Leopard truly escape death?
Who's Nena Yhen?
"Sembra che tu ti sia perso: Los Angeles è lontana da qui..."
La donna fatta di vento andò alla deriva verso l'eminenza.